Fairy Tail Gen Ten
by Gman91
Summary: The strongest mage's guild in Fiorre, Fairy Tail, continues its greatness, generations later, with a newly instated Tenth Master. The story follows Glail Stivok, the son of the ninth master who had just passed away. Despite growing up around the guild his whole life, Glail just joined. He immediatly becomes part of Fairy Tail's A Team. Find out what adventures await!
1. Author's Note 1

Hey guys. So occasionally I like to have little notes that share my thoughts so I figured I'd start the story off with one of these notes. I like to write original novels mostly, but that can get tiring at times so I like to take little breaks to write some fanfiction. I usually write pokemon fanfiction but I was in the mood for something different, something more actiony. And I love Fairy Tail (mostly, Tartarus arc was disgustingly bad), so I had this idea. The story takes place in the future from the current storyline. Far in the future, following the tenth guild master. Since in the current series Makarov is the sixth master, this series takes place well over a hundred years later. So no characters from the series will appear, it is all original characters. The first arc is already finished. I'll probably post it pretty quickly. I know it is a bit story light and short, but it needed to be a simple arc, the fights helped me get to know the characters and what I wanted to do with them. I promise more fleshed out arcs in the future. Anyway I'll just hush up for now and let you get to the story.


	2. Chaos Bones Arc: Generation Ten

"Where do you want it? Right on your forehead so everyone knows?" giggled Phynn Raul, her bright green pigtails jiggled with her laugh. Phynn was a twenty-two year female who was sitting in what looked like an old, wooden pub. The building was actually the headquarters for the mage guild Fairy Tail, but the bottom floor really was a bar. One wall was line with a bar counter, also made from golden wood and tables, stools and chairs were littered all around the wooden floor. Currently about half of the chairs were filled with bodies, all cheery and marry with other people in the room. Phynn was on her knees on a stool, facing across from a shorter, younger male. Standing she was six feet tall. Phynn was a slender female, but she wasn't dainty, her body was callused, scared and bruised and slight muscle waived all across her body. Her face was soft and sweet looking, she had big lips and thick cheekbones. But Phynn's hazel eyes were sharp and fierce. She had thick, brown brows which increased the intimidation of her eyes. Brown eyebrows and peeks of brown roots under her green hair meant her hair was dyed but it looked well done. Despite a muscular body and scary eyes Phynn was wearing a frilly, white dress with long, baggy sleeves. Frills were bunched around the end of the sleeves and down the chest. Gray tights were capped off with frayed, straw sandals. Peeking past her collar, onto her neck was the tattoo of Fairy Tail. Only the rounded head of the dark gray tattoo could be seen. In her scarred hand was a stamp of the same tattoo mark with royal blue ink dripped from the stamp.

"I don't think that's noticeable enough. Can we just turn my whole body into the mark? Magic can do anything right?" replied Glail Shivok. Glail was only five foot six but he was stalky. Muscle, much bigger than Phynn's muscle mass, rippled across all of Glail's body, very not I cable especially in his arms and shoulders. His light skin was bruised slightly but his skin was in smoother shape than Phynn's. Glail had a sharp smile but soft, chubby cheeks and softer, forest green eyes. Fluffy, short black hair flickered across his round head, not stretching past his ears or down to his forehead. A big chunk out of the top of Glail's left ear was missing. He was dressed in a plain, white shirt, the sleeves were tight around his shoulders and arms. His pants however were a delight, they were dark purple silk with golden thread and golden tassels hanging from multiple spots. On the back of his pants, on a hook by his waste were two knives in horizontal sheaths. Both knives were the same shape and size, and they were only six inches long. The blades were thin, but solid metal and the handles were smooth, spotted marble. His spotless, leather shoes were high quality and fancy. Glail jammed out his left hand right under the stamp. "Put it on my hand, so the enemy can see the guild when I finish them." Glail spoke in a crisp, deep voice, it wasn't intimidating but it was noticeable. Phynn just shrugged and she jammed the stamp down on Glail's hand so the tail of the mark faced his knuckles. There was no heat from the stamp and Glail didn't show any signs of being in pain, but the stamp was sealed to Glail's hand, because it was magic.

"Punch your opponents?" exclaimed another female voice. This voice was tame and quiet, especially compared to the harsh, cracking voice of Phynn. This sweet voice came from the second floor out of three floors. There was a small balcony which came out a few feet out of the wall across from the gigantic double doors. On top of this balcony, leaning hard into the railing was the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, Ales Finx. "Aren't all of your spells medium ranged?"

"I have like, one physical spell," grumbled Glail. His head was dipped but he turned around so he was facing the master. Phynn and a few others turned their heads around to look at their master. Ales replied with a wide smile, stretching from ear too ear. Her skin was incredibly pale which made her bright, orange hair stand out even more. Her wavy hair fell down to her back and along her skinny arms. Ales was thin, not showing a bit of muscle and her skinny, black clothes still looked baggy on her. The clothes were a black suit, impeccably clean and perfectly stitched together. Black thread made spirals around the arms and legs, which was only noticeable up close. Clamps, that looked like raven wings shot off of the back of her shoulders, clamping down on a torn, silk cape which was split in two down by her waste and each split followed a leg down. Ales had long legs which were topped off by fuzzy, stringy, bright orange slippers. She looked down at Glail proudly with wide, orange eyes that matched her hair. Her eyebrows were a dark black but her hair was naturally that orange. Her skinny, lengthy body wasn't a bit scary, even with her six foot five height. Her facial features stuck out strongly on her pale face, especially dark circles around her eyes but just being around Ales was intimidating. There was nothing in her appearance or her voice, it was just her aura, even the dozens of loyal guild members down below had a very faint fear of Ales. There wasn't a visible guild mark on Ales, it was big and orange on her back.

"Well congratulations on officially becoming a member of Fairy Tail. It has been a long time coming," said Ales. Her booming voice stayed tame and sweet but it carried through the entire guild floor, which was a rather large, square room. A booming clapping erupted through the entire room, every single person except Glail was clapping happily with toothy smiles on their faces and the clapping was energetic. Glail pumped his marked fist in the air and his wide smile flashed his white teeth. Genuine, childish happiness was plastered all over Glail's face. "Now come up here so we can have a more personal conversation." Glail's smile never diminished as he flicked his left hand quickly behind his back. His thick fingers wrapped around the marble handle of one of his knives. His hand was then extended back forward and his wrist flicked the knife right at the balcony Ales was on. The knife rotated dozens of times as it flew perfectly through the air. There was no magic in the throw, it was a naturally good throw. White smoke clouded around the handle and it stayed around the handle even as the knife flew. The blade slammed into the wooden balcony, which had a few other knife holes in the front. Almost all of the knife's blade was stuck into the balcony and the white smoke flashed several times. Matching white smoke had been steaming off Glail's body as the knife was thrown. A second after the knife hit Glail was gone in a poof of smoke. He appeared in another puff of smoke with his left hand around the knife's handle. The little knife wouldn't be able to hold Glail's weight so immediately Glail shot up his bulky, free hand which grabbed onto the top of the sturdy railing. Glail hurdled his body over the railing and right away squared up to face the guild master. His smile never diminished but his eyes looked firmly in Ales's firm eyes. Despite Glail being feeling comfortable around Ales and despite the fact he doubled her weight, goosebumps still scattered his arms and neck. Ales crept a hand forward which gently rested on Glail's shoulder. Her look of pride never diminished from her bright eyes. "I know I've said this before." Ales spoke quietly now and the rest of the group went back to their merry conversations so only Glail could hear Ales's words. Phynn kept her neck cranked up and her eyes on the duo. "Your father wanted you to join the guild a long time ago. I think he wanted to mark you the first day he brought you to the guild as a little baby." A slight, sad chuckle slipped through Ales's lips and Glail laughed a little as well. "But I know you insisted you wouldn't join until you felt competent enough. You've always been Fairy Tail quality though. I'm just really glad you're an official member now, your father would be so proud." Sadness bubbled in Glail's eyes but tears didn't well out. His smile still mostly remained. Ales tightened her grip on Glail's shoulder as sadness welled up in her throat.

"I wish he was here. But I am proud to be a member of Fairy Tail now, I will do everything to continue the Fairy Tail way in your guild," said Glail quietly, with his head dipped.

"Our guild," corrected Ales. A smile peaked on the sides of Glail's lips. "I wish he was here too. But he put together an incredible guild here. He taught me so much so that I can continue to be a good guild master, though I am not half the master he was. I know you know as well as anyone hear the morals and rules that Fairy Tail is all about. Now I know you will continue these rules and morals, I am not worried about that at all. But you can't do that if you're dead." Glail's head was still dipped in sadness as memories of his father flew threw his head. Gently but firmly Ales took her free hand under Glail's chin and pushed it up so their eyes met. Ales's eyes were narrowed and serious. "Do not go after your father's killer, the dark guild Black Empire and any of their allies are off limits if your goal is revenge. If you encounter any of their allied guilds in a job then you can of course dispatch them. But the magic council, Fairy Tail's elites and a few other guilds are hunting down Black Empire. You are strong, but you're not their level yet. And you're a good kid, but you are your father's kid, you have sparks of a temper like he did. This guild will pay, and you may get to help, but not now. Okay?" Glail wiggled his eyes away from Ales but he couldn't shake his head free.

"Yeah," muttered Glail under his breath. Ales didn't take her hand or her serious eyes off Glail.

"Promise me!" he said sternly.

"I promise," firmly replied Glail, looking Ales right in her eyes. Ales breathed a sigh of relief as her shoulders relaxed and her hands slipped off Glail's body. "You're right, I'm very angry. I want revenge, badly. But my father would be ashamed of me if I rushed into revenge and got myself killed. I trust that you are doing what is necessary to take down Black Empire. I am just going to do my part in the guild as a proud member of Fairy Tail. Ales shot her hand back forward to rub the top of Glail's hands playfully.

"Alright I believe you, you're a good kid," replied Ales happily. A smile crawled back on her face though Glail was still fighting with sad memories of his father.


	3. Chaos Bones Arc: The Arrival

The giant doors swung open, drawing attention because everyone was curious who it was. Fairy Tail had over a hundred members and the members took jobs constantly that sometimes took weeks so the members liked to see what face was coming in. Two bodies strolled into the room, well one flew. But no one in the guild recognized either of these two. Some of the member's kept their eyes curiously on the newcomers while most of the members went back to talking with their nearby friends. Phynn was closest to the door and flashed a smile which crinkled her nose and cheeks.

"Hel-" she greeted.

"I came to speak to your guild master," interrupted the male of the duo. This male was six foot two and he was built like a rock. His bulging muscles, especially his broad shoulders, made Glail look weak. He was Cross Li of the mercenary guild Chaos Bones. He was almost twice as broad as Glail was and his body was thick everywhere, though it was almost all muscle, with a bit of fat coating. Cross's head was completely bald but he had a coarse beard and thick, dark brown eyebrows. A cotton, fuzzy robe was draped over Cross's body. The sleeves fell down past his fingers and the end trailed down to the ground, sliding along the slick floor with every giant stride. Cross took a few steps inside the guild before stopping. His request to speak to the guild master was heard by everyone and they all glanced up to Ales, almost every conversation had stopped. Cross's bright, gold eyes shot up towards Ales, an intense look covered his hairy face. On his left cheek was a guild mark in bright, gold ink. This mark was a generic skull shape, round head and square jaw. But there was a gap in the skull, a diagonal gap in the shape of a zag. This break split the mark in two and the sides never touched. Even from across the building he could feel Ales's presence though he didn't have any goosebumps or trace of fear.

"Ah, you must be Cross Li," announced Ales cheerfully. Glail stayed by Ales's side and watched carefully. Cross Li nodded firmly, not breaking his glance. "And this is?" Ales was referring to the young female behind Cross.

"I am Forey Jay, it is a pleasure to meet you," introduced Forey, throwing in an elaborate bow. Her voice was squeaky like a child's. And Forey looked like a nine year old, but she was actually twenty. She was only three and a half feet tall, which didn't help combined with her young looking face. Forey's head was up with Cross's head though because she was floating effortlessly. Occasionally her body would bop up and down an inch. Forey had tan skin and dark hair, which was pulled back into bushy ponytails. She was really skinny like a child, her body was shaped like a stick. Her dark green eyes poked curiously around the room but her eyes kept coming back to Cross. She also had a cotton rob, which hung past her feet. Hers was bright red, and with a tan, leather belt wrapped tight around her waste. Her sleeves also had leather lining their ends. She had the same Chaos Bones mark, those hers was bright red and it was on the side of her neck, completely visible.

"Nice to meet you too," cheerfully replied Ales. "Do you have the delivery?" Ales continued to speak loudly, speaking over all the chatter. Glail's eyes shot open as it all clicked in his head.

"Wait, are they the ones bringing dad's body?" asked Glail, quietly into Ales's ear. She only nodded and Cross nodded to answer Ales's question. The giant Cross glanced back to Forey, who met his glance. The little girl snapped, and a big, metal coffin appeared next to her. Glail got really excited and he leaned forward over the railing, looking right at the coffin. His joyous mood was coated with sadness. The coffin only floated for a second before Forey snapped again and the coffin disappeared in a flash.

"Before you ask, that is him," answered Ales from under her breath. "I'm sure." Glail just nodded along, not questioning Ales. He could not see in the coffin, no one could but Ales seemed certain. "I will go fetch the payment we agreed on." Swiftly Ales turned around to go through the doorway behind her.

"Actually," called out Cross. His words caused Ales to cringe, her right shoulder shot up to her ear and everyone in the guild to look worried. Glail took a deep breath to fight the anger from shooting up in him. "The payment has changed."

"More gold? You greedy bastards," hissed Phynn. She glared at Cross but Cross didn't pay her any attention. Ales kept her back turned towards the newcomers, angrily awaiting their new deal.

"We want your right hand," demanded Cross. "We will take no other payment." His deep voice echoed throughout the room and his face kept stern. Forey tried to have a stern expression as well but it was more silly than intimidating. Several members gasped but mostly everyone stayed quiet with confused expressions. No one, not even Phynn or Glail knew the importance of Ales's hand. Glail leaned farther over the railing, just ready to jump down and attack. Before he could or before he could even yell back, Ales appeared right in front of Cross. She did not attack him but she appeared right in front of him, leaving only two inches between the two.

"I am not paying that. You will take your gold and then you will give us the coffin and leave," demanded Ales. Her sweet, tame voice had been replaced, every word she said sounded venomous. She seemed ready to take off Cross's head and her eyes made that obvious. Still no goosebumps or sweat appeared on Cross's body, he didn't even flinch.

"If you do not pay with your hand, then we will take our business elsewhere. I am sure there are a few dark guilds that will pay something good," replied Cross sternly. He glanced back at Forey and nodded. Forey moved fingers on both hands to get ready to snap.

"There are dozens of us and two of you. What's stopping me from beating you up and then just taking the coffin," barked Ales.

"Then you will never get the body back. Only Forey can get it. Either way it or we leave." Cross kept his eyes narrowed to match Ales's look. She kept quiet, made no signs of speaking. The guild could only watch in suspense. Glail was still leaning over the railing but he stayed still, trusting Ales to handle it. "Alright then. Guess the ninth master's body didn't mean much to you." Before there could be another word, Forey snapped and the duo was completely gone. Ales made no motion, her pale skin had bubbled into angry red.

"What, you just let the-" shouted Glail. He hopped right over the railing, landing the fifteen feet down like it was nothing.

"Reyes, did you get it?" yelled Ales. She didn't break her stare from the front doors. The girl in question, Reyes, was leaning against the back wall with her arms crossed.

"No," grumbled Reyes in a rough, voice that was deep for a woman. "I'll need to be close to her again. I was almost there, just a few seconds, maybe a minute more. Reyes was a slender girl and stood at only five foot four. She had her black hair pulled back into a ponytail and her bangs hung over one eye. This same eye had a leather, black eye patch strung over it. The Fairy Tail logo was engraved in the center of his eye patch. Her other eye was a faint red color. Reyes had pretty pale skin, only a few tints darker than Ales. She had on tight, maroon hoodie with gold stitching very obvious. Black linen pants covered her bottoms, flaring out in a boot cut style below her knee. A silver necklace hung outside of her hoodie, a little silver key, half an inch long hung off her necklace. It wasn't a practical key, just a decoration. Besides the eye patch she did not have an obvious guild mark.

"Shit, I should've just tackled the girl and pinned her down," mumbled Ales. "I'm trying to be less violent though, but I should've." Everyone in the guild stayed quiet, keeping their sad eyes on Ales. Everyone except a girl named Danna Peters, who jumped to her foot and shot her hand in the air.

"I put a tracker on the girl," announced Danna, joyously loud. "They just reappeared right outside of Magnolia. They are moving slower now, like a car speed instead of teleporting. We can totally catch them." Excited smiles appeared on some of the guild member's faces but most of them were just sort of lost. Danna was a five foot seven woman with golden blonde hair that waved wildly down her head. She had sweet, bright blue eyes that grabbed your attention immediately. She was a bit thicker than most of the other woman in the room but she was in no means overweight. A light, teal blouse was over her top paired with a baggy, white skirt. Her feet were completely bare and completely without painted toes and her fingers were not painted either. Danna had big front teeth that were slightly crooked but she the energy in her smile was adorable and she was still a cute girl. She was just eighteen years of age. The tail of her guild mark peaked through her blouse on her shoulder, teal in color.

"Let me lead the hunt, make it my first mission," demanded Glail, taking a heavy step forward. He spoke the second Danna's last words left her mouth. Danna stayed standing as did Phynn. Another guild member, a man named Taft Gunn also jumped to his feet. Each of these three were grinning wildly.

"Deal," replied Ales. "Get the coffin back, that's the mission. Get close and protect Reyes so she can steal the coffin back. They will probably get suspicious and attack you guys so you'll need a team. But even if they are moving by car they already have a big headstart and who knows when they will teleport again. I can let you guys ride a phoenix but anymore than five of you will probably weight it down too much to catch up to them fast enough. So you have to take Reyes and Danna. You can pick two more, Team Leader."

"My sister Phynn and my best buddy Taft of course," hastily replied Glail. "Sorry everyone else, I still love you." Phynn just shrugged, completely confident that she was going to get picked. Taft pumped his fist while jumping in the air happily. Taft was also an eighteen year old. He was five foot eight tall and muscles flowed on his body but he wasn't as bulky as Glail. Taft had gentle, brown eyes that went well with his sweet smile and innocent looking face. Brown, silky hair was slicked back into a short, puffy ponytail. Streaks of blue ran through the sides of his hair. Taft was dressed in a tight, white tank top with red streaks running across the shirt. Red lined the armholes. His arms were bare and they were clean. Tan shorts covered his bottom, with baggy pockets on the bottom. These shorts were cut off at his knees. Taft didn't wear shoes either, leaving his gigantic feet totally bare. On the outside of his right ankle was his royal blue guild mark. He stuck out a palm towards Glail who was still a dozen feet away. Glail saw this out of the corner of his eye and jammed his palm back, completing the air five. Glail was already striding towards the door and the others followed. "Alright let's get going, my dad needs to be buried in Magnolia." Phynn waited for Glail to catch up before she started to move. Glail started to slow down as he passed Phynn, confusion plastered over his face. "Wait, why do we need to protect Reyes, she is the strongest out of the five of us?" Ales opened her mouth to answer but Reyes was already speaking.

"Because, Dork, I can't fight when I'm trying to hack into someone's teleport spell. And I could fight them first and we could pin her down and then I could hack her spell but who knows what she could do with the coffin by then. If I start hacking it right away I can keep her from moving it."

"Right, let's go kick some ass," Glail shouted.

"Go get them," shouted one of the guild members. The other guild members joined in the cheering. Ales stayed still as the team filed out of the guild. Glail gave a hefty shove and the heavy doors flew open.

"Blegh, they marked me with this crap and it won't come off," wined Forey. She was shaking her right arm rapidly. She was sitting down now, on the back of a jeep which was hauling along a dirt rode. A tall, old looking city was close behind the car which was going as fast as it could, creating a trail of dust behind its big tires. Forey was sitting in the middle of the back seat, kicking her feet that hung off the leather seat. Cross was in the passengers seat, looking down at clear, glass communication lacrima between his thick hands. There was a hooded guy in the class, which was just an image, the hooded man was really hundreds of miles away. Currently Cross was silent and was the hooded man, who looked lost in thought.

"Does it hurt?" nonchalantly asked the driver. The driver was also a member of Chaos Bones which was most evident by the Chaos Bones mark on the inside of his wrist. A white glove was pulled over that same hand but his mark wasn't covered. This man was Leaky Johass. He stood at five foot seven and he was very slender. The man was pretty, with gorgeous, sky blue eyes and silky, long blonde hair that flew back in the wind. To go with his pretty look was a silk, white suit complete with matching white pants. The ironed suit was stainless. Red stitching was obvious around the jacket. There was a matching red tie and leather belt to go with the suit. There was a black steering wheel on the jeep that Leaky had his dainty hands around. But there was no gas pedal. Instead there was a cord wrapped around Leaky's wrist, under his suit sleeve. This cord then went behind the steering wheel and eventually to the engine. It ran off magic, the more magic Leaky poured into the cord the faster the vehicle went. The road was bumpy, with hills and holes scattered everywhere. But Leaky kept the jeep going fairly straight which was impressive with the speed they were going at. Along the side of the jeep was a few train tracks, which were currently empty of trains but they were impeccably straight.

"Nope," blurted Forey, still shaking.

"Does it tingle?" Leaky asked again.

"Nope. It doesn't feel like anything. It is just, there," Forey cried.

"It is probably a tracking device," informed Cross, tucking the lacrima into the seat. The lacrima was blank, the call had ended.

"From those Fairy Tail brats?" asked Leaky. His voice was high pitched but it was smooth.

"Blegh," commented Forey, flashing a look of disgust. "They wouldn't pay up, they are making this hard for us, stuck up brats."

"I am sure it was from them. We have something extremely valuable to them. They let us go but I'm sure they regret it. Maybe they think they can get through Forey's magic after all. If the Guild Master is chasing us then we are done for. If it is anyone else we will fight them off. In what, fifty minutes you can teleport again Forey?"

"Yes sir!," cheered the girl, pumping her fist into the air.

"Alright, if it is the guild master we just have to stall until then. Jape, care to go scout out? If it is Master Ales, stay far away. If it is anyone else, you can engage if you wish. Just don't die, you're our cook," ordered Cross gently. He was talking the fourth and last member in the car, Jape Venters. Jape was a man with long arms who stood at five foot nine. He was rather muscular himself, especially in his arms. He was intimidating, but that didn't just come from his muscle mass. Though his shirtless look was rather intimidating with his rippled chest openly displayed. He had his guild mark displayed on his chest and it was large enough to cover his whole chest. But instead of ink the skull was burned into Jape's skin. But Jape's main intimidation came from the rusty, metal mask over his head. Only his lips and his eyes, with a few pieces of blonde hair dropped down were visible on his face. The metal mask was twisted and welded together sloppily but it was firmly on his face. There were thick tears and scratches on the outside of the rusty mask. His skin, especially his knuckles were scarred and burnt, mostly the latter. Thick, black pants were on his bottoms, burn marks and tears littered the worn pants. Jape had on thick, tan boots which rolled under his pants and up to his shin.

"With pleasure," answered Jape in a voice that sounded like a growl. "I promise I won't die. If I die then Forey is the cook, then you all die."

"Hey!" snapped Forey. Leaky giggled quietly while Cross let out a boisterous laugh.

"Anyway I'll get going. Where do we meet up in case we get separated?" wondered Jape. His deep voice was quiet and he spoke slowly.

"Crocus," answered Cross with a slight smile.

"Ah home sweet home," whistled Jape before he pushed off the bed of the jeep. Wind swirled around his feet and propelled him forward, helping his body keep the speed he had in the jeep. He skating with these new tornado feet of his, whistling a cheery song as he skated. His whistling remained but his skating slowed down until the wind stopped and he stood tall on the dirt road. His eyes stared all around as the jeep flew away behind him. Moments had passed and Jape didn't seem the least bit bored. While he wasn't enjoying himself at the moment, the idea of soon having a fight kept him entertained. And just as he stopped hearing the roar of the engine, he saw a bright orange thin emerge from behind one of the tallest buildings in Magnolia, heading straight his way.


	4. Chaos Bones Arc: The Storm Dragon Slayer

The coffin retrieval team of Fairy Tail was riding on a bright orange phoenix, made of pure fire though it didn't burn them. The phoenix had a long body, wide wings and a long tail. All five members fit comfortably on the body. Danna was in the front of the group, right by the bird's neck. There were reigns around the phoenix's chest which were resting in Danna's hands and she was able to steer the bird with it. In her head she was able to keep track of where her track's location was. Glail was right behind Danna, and occasionally his ripped arms would bump her side and caused bright blush to well on her cheeks. Occasionally she would lean back slightly to bump their bodies again. Glail just thought it was because of turbulence from the flight, even though the bird flew smooth. The jeep had moved behind some hills in the distance so the group never saw it. They did see Jape however and the four other members kept an eye on him, Danna was too focused. Jape's eyes scanned the group, he could see well even though they were way up in the air. Fairy Tail was a popular guild, constantly making magazines so Jape had a good idea of what Ales looked like. He did recognize Reyes and Phynn, and an excited grin grew on his face when he recognized Reyes. Hastily his cheeks puffed out and then a breath of wind was forced out. The breath expanded several feet wide and it roared like a tornado. The breath carried up the phoenix and it moved fast. Because everyone was keeping an eye the suspicious guy, someone acted fast. That someone was Glail. He jammed out his palm and sprayed white flames from it. These flames propelled the bird sideways, putting it clear of the spell. The wind still swirled everyone's hair around as it passed. Danna's head was jerked when the bird was moved and she spun around both hurt and confused. But she saw the spell pass by and it made her jump up, clearing her anger.

"He has got to be a member of Chaos Bones to attack us like that," said Taft, looking down curiously at the wide male. Everyone was glancing down but Phynn had already swung her feet so she hung off the bird, ready to slip off.

"Oh he has to be," added Phynn. "And I dibs fighting dragon slayers so, mine. Good luck guys, be safe. Don't let my brother do anything stupid." Without waiting a second Phynn pushed off the bird and began to soar downwards. Her hair and ruffly dress rippled in the fierce wind from the fall.

"No you don't be stupid, stupid!" Glail shouted back but Phynn was too far down. The bird continued to fly forward but everyone turned their heads around their shoulders to watch the encounter, mostly to make sure another spell wasn't fired their way. Phynn took in a big breath and Jape just stayed their watching. His muscles were clenched through, ready to move at any second. His hands just laid at his side, his fingers wiggling in anticipation. Bit of yellow lighting cackled around Phynn's lips which were suddenly wet.

"Roar of the Storm Dragon!" A breath was pushed from her lips, very similar to Jape's breath in both size and speed. Hers was made up of wind as well, through it was a darker gray. The biggest difference was the shots of lightning that swirled with the raging wind. Bits of water sprinkled out from the spell though this water evaporated before it got far, Jape never felt a bit of water. The broad Jape slide to the side quickly, wind being pushed from his palms and feet to increase his speed. He was free from the spell which kept its course before the spell even got close to crashing into him. Jape followed by taking in another deep breath, though this time as he breathed he sucked in the wind from Phynn's spell. The lighting and rain remained as it continued forward and crashed into the ground, blowing up bits of dirt and leaving a crater. All of the wind was easily sucked into Jape's body and he looked more spry and energetic afterwards.

"Thanks for the snack," burped Jape, patting his stomach. Phynn was still falling to the ground, though her own spell had slowed her down quite a bit. Her knees bent as she fell but she had a sturdy hand out which she used to catch herself and landed in a cool pose. The two fighters just watched each other carefully, neither preparing a spell at the moment. "I heard you dibs all Dragon Slayers. Which is fair, it is fun to test yourself against other dragon slayers. Especially with the dragon's all gone our only real opponent are other dragon slayers. But I read about you, Phynn Raul, the Storm Dragon Slayer. Knowing your element was storm, which is just a mix of wind and electricity-"

"And rain," joyfully interrupted Phynn. Jape just shrugged her words off and kept talking.

"I knew I can just suck out the wind from your spells. And I can dodge them too but even if I don't all you hit me with is some half assed lightning and I'll get a power-up every spell you throw. So you picked the wrong Dragon Slayer." Jape tightened his fist and his back leg shot backwards. Phynn's face tightened as a smug grin spread across.

"No, you're exactly the right Dragon Slayer. You're right, my magic is at a huge disadvantage against yours. I'll have to use all my experience, intelligence and creativity to win. So I'm excited."

"You're foolish!" laughed Jape, keeping his eyes locked on Phynn's who was locked back. "You're especially foolish for coming down here. You could've just blocked my spells and kept flying past. But now you dropped down here to stop the one of me, leaving the other four to fight the hundred members of Chaos Bones.

"You're right, I am foolish. In many regards. But I am not foolish for coming to fight you. Here's the thing. You, Chaos Bones are a legal mercenary group and you are decently well known. So I've read about you too. You only have four members. And so if I didn't fight you here you could catch up with us and ambush us from behind. Now I have a question for you."

"Yeah I've had enough talking. Show me how you plan to beat me without the full force of your storm." Jape shot forward with long strides, light gray wind pouring at his back. He shot his right fist back behind his shoulder like he was cocking a gun. His other arm was bent forward in front of his chest, acting like a shield. Wind whipped up around both fists, creating a sphere of shredding wind. The wind was noticeably fiercer than the roar spell from earlier. "Iron Fist of the Sky Dragon."

"Sky Dragons are supposed to be finesse," muttered Phynn. Phynn bent her knees and her hands were staying forward, like a fly trap. Jape was charging in fast with the wind at his back but he smirked when he noticed Phynn wasn't making any hints of a spell. Jape's heels dug down into the ground, making a mess of dirt that was kicked up, only adding to the dirt that was trailing behind him. He stopped a few feet in front of Phynn and quickly clapped his two hands together. These movements happened so fast that Phynn couldn't counter fast enough.

"Whirling Drill of the Sky Dragon!" The whirring winds of his fists merged together when the hands clapped. The wind shot forward the same width as the two hands and it still spun furiously. It was quick with double the spinning power. Phynn was slammed right in the stomach without any spells of her own. She was sent flying back instantly off her feet. Her frilly dress now had a big ripped hole right in the stomach and thread hung off it. Her dress and leggings ripped more as her body flopped against the ground and bounced back several times. Jape's stomach bounced around as he gave a hefty laughter. Phynn's momentum died out as she flopped one more time and landed on her back. Instantly Phynn's bruised body shot back up and her hands rocketed off the ground and raised her body back up. "I wanted to see what you'd do if I came in close. As I figured you were going to wait until the last second and fire a spell so I didn't have time to eat it. Yeah I'm not that stupid. Guess I'll wrap this up now with another ranged spell. I was hoping you'd be a challenge like the fire dragon slayer but I guess when your magic stands no chance against mine there is nothing you can do. Not your fault." Phynn was standing to her feet with ripped clothes and fresh bruises. She was hunched over slightly, breathing heavily. Her shoes had been thrown off when her body was sent flying, scattered in front of her. Jape raised both of his massive arms up over his head and at the same time Phynn raised her dirty arm, pointing two fingers right at Jape. The giant only scoffed at this move, there was nothing Phynn could do to hurt him. Phynn kept her stance, but no magic appeared. A ball of wind swirled around in Jape's hands. The wind formed almost instantly, already in the size of a small car. Jape bent his elbows, took a firm step forward and hurled the ball right at Phynn. "Gorgeous Wind of the Sky Dragon!" Jape had no other words, just watched proudly as his ferocious spell hurled towards his opponent. Phynn kept a serious, intense look on her face, bit of green hair were flopped over her eyes. She didn't bend her knees or take a step even though the spell was hurled right towards her. Light wind swirled around her fingers but it mostly crackled with yellow lightning. The wind spell had kicked up so much dust as it flew that Jape couldn't see what Phynn was doing.

"Crackling Blast of the Storm Dragon!" Phynn huffed under her breath. A big gust of wind shot out from the sides of Phynn's hand but this was just excess of the wind that propelled Jape's Gorgeous Wind back at him. Even if Jape wanted to suck in this wind it was too late, it already did its job of countering. Dust was kicked up yet again as the spell went the other way. Phynn wasn't even pushed back or damaged in the slightest. She dropped her tired arm down below her waste. Despite the roaring dirt Jape could still clearly see his spell flying back at him. Wind propelled under Jape's feet and shifted him over to the side, clear of his speeding spell. He could see traces of lightning in his old spell but he thought nothing of it. While Phynn's hand was resting below her waste, her fingers were still sticking out. She then bent her fingers back into her fist. Right when this happened lightning exploded from the Gorgeous Wind which had just passed Jape. The electricity crackled out every side of the wind sphere like a bomb. Several streams of electricity jammed into Jape's back, sending a furious shock through his body. The giant released a deep yelp that sounded like a mammoth screeching. Jape fell right to his knees in pain, not able to fight it at all. His hands did fall forward to catch his body before his head could hit the ground. He stayed there, panting and fighting off the pain. His body was numb all over, he was unable to move his legs or his back, so he stayed. Phynn stayed still but she straightened up her stance and wore a victorious smile. She kept her guard up though, knowing the fight wasn't over.

"You're right, I can't beat you without the full force of my storm. But looks like your wind works just fine for creating a storm. Now, I had a question for you," demanded Phynn. She slicked one hand across her hair, pulling the strands out of her eyes. The sweat and dirt kept it plastered back to the top of her head. Jape just gruffed, focusing on moving his body. "Master was paying you guys quite a bit for that body. Why did you demand another payment?" Jape rolled back his eyes, he could already feel the numbness fading but it wasn't fading fast enough.

"Cross had made me a very rich man. I follow Cross, I get rich. He has never failed me," blurted Jape.

"But you made an enemy of Fairy Tail with your actions. Even if it wasn't illegal, you had to know you were going to piss off a very powerful guild. Now we are going to beat you guys up, take back our coffin and not pay you," replied Phynn with legitimate curiosity and confusion in her eyes.

"I trust Cross," answered Jape with a stern expression. "Now enough questions, let's get back to fighting." Jape yanked one knee off the ground and slammed down his heavy leg. His other foot dragged against the ground, scraping his toes against the rough dirt.

"But I still have so many questions," whined Phynn. She had not prepared a spell nor was in any sort of stance. "I haven't even got to ask you about why you got your dragon slayer lacrima."

"And I want to fight. You totally should've knocked me out when you had me paralyzed. But instead you stood around talking. You're a disgrace to a mage's guild and to dragon slayers," spat Jape, his brows furrowed in anger.

"Who says I was standing around?" wondered Phynn with her tongue sticking out. She pointed repeatedly at the space behind Jape, where there was another Phynn charging forward with her leg up above her waste. Other Phynn looked identical to Original Phynn, same body, same fierce eyes, same tears in their same dress. Jape turned around hastily because he felt the sudden presence of magic, which was coming from Other Phynn. Jape originally turned around his neck to look at the magic but dragged his entire body around once he saw the presence. He moved quickly as always, just able to turn his body around so his side faced the oncoming kicking but he was just starting to raise his arms up. Other Phynn fired her leg, which was easy to kick now due to her torn dress, right above Jape's moving hands. She had hopped up with her planted leg which let the agile girl send a roundhouse kick right into Jape's pudgy neck.

"Mirage of the Storm Dragon!" shouted Other Phynn. Jape flinched, tightened his muscles to brace for the attack but the kick just went through his body and Other Phynn's leg disappeared in a puff of vapors. Other Phynn grinned as the rest of her floating body disappeared in a puff of a vapors as well. Jape could hear heavy, running steps charging towards him as a look of defeat slid down from his forehead.

"Raging Fist of the Storm Dragon," chanted Original Phynn. She was already right at Jape's back, even using wind to propel him he couldn't dodge in time. And he couldn't eat her spell quick enough either. All Jape could do was turn his head around to see the determined look coming from Phynn's narrowed eyes and her biting her bottom lip with her big front teeth. Her right arm had all of its muscles flexed, it bulged like a bridge and veins were popping off. Her fist was clenched tightly, her bit of chewed fingernails were digging into her callused palm. A swarm of wind and lighting spun around the fist as water droplets slid down her wrist. Using all the force she had she fired her raging fist into Jape's soft cheek, forcing his eyes to roll back as the punch connected. The ferocious fist knocked the consciousness right out of Jape and it was obvious from his eyes that were completely rolled back. Despite being hit from Phynn's full force punch, the heavy Jape did not move back much. He look a few unconscious steps before his giant body fell back over like a huge domino. Phynn landed square on her feet and looked down at Jape as the wind petered off her fist. She was breathing heavily but not panting and her body didn't seem too damaged, just a little bruised and sore stomach. "No Arms, no Vernier, what kind of Sky Dragon Slayers are you," sighed Phynn. Immediately after she strolled off towards where the rest of her guild members had headed, though she couldn't see the phoenix anymore. She wasn't worried though, figured that they just dropped down behind the hill that was in her path. Phynn kept walking, leaving Jape alive behind her. Even though the hot summer sun was beating down, he would live. She knew he would not wake up soon, not soon enough to get in her team's way. But he did nothing illegal, so knocking him out was all she could do. Phynn was confidence that even after Jape woke up, he would not mess with Fairy Tail again, as evident by the proud smirk on the side of her face.


	5. Chaos Bones Arc: Hurricane Island

"We've got company!" exclaimed Forey, still rapidly shaking her tagged hand. The three remaining members of Chaos Bones had stayed in the exact same seats. Forey wore a panicked, frantic look but both Leaky and Cross remained calm and stoic. The jeep had gone behind the big, curving hills but the phoenix and Fairy Tail had followed. The phoenix had swooped down so it was straight behind the Jeep. Reyes had a furrowed look on her face, because she was busy working on stealing the coffin back, but her body stayed seated with her hands crossed tightly. Everything was going on in her mind. Taft had a happy, childish expression as he leaned over the bird, gripping tightly onto Glail's firm shoulder so he didn't fall off. His long, bare leg scrapped against the dirt road, creating a massive amount of dust that seemed to trail his leg. Glail didn't even notice his friends hand tightly on his own shoulder, he had his knuckles grating together to the side of his body. The tracker on Forey's arm suddenly disappeared, though she didn't notice. This freed up Danna's mind and she had palm extended towards the jeep while the other was still on the reigns, keeping the phoenix for slamming in the ground. She would've been able to fire her spell by now but she was more focused on driving, indicated by her furrowed brows and her chewing on her top lip.

"They are coming back for a reason, especially since if they wanted to just overpower us, the Master would come. But she didn't, so this group must have some special magic they think can steal the coffin. Move the goods Forey," instructed Cross, still staying calm.

"I, I can't," stuttered Forey with a shocked expression. Her eyes were open wide and her jaw was dropped down. Forey could see the Fairy Tail mages preparing spells and the other two could feel the spells but they all kept their current actions.

"What?" barked Cross, showing his first signs of frustration.

"I, I don't know how, but it is like someone is trying to break into the place I have the coffin in, even though it is a magical room only my magic can access," rattled Forey, still scared and surprised.

"Great," sighed Cross Li. "Well I'll intervene before we get blasted with spells. You two get out of here and get that coffin moved, I don't care to where. Cross didn't make any movements, just took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He stayed perfectly still but the jeep kept moving, moving through and passed Cross. Staying still meant the phoenix was on a crash course towards him. Both Glail and Taft had just fired their spells which were roaring right in front of the phoenix by the time everything was about to collide with Cross. Glail had just flicked both his fists forward, keeping them at his left side. Two streams of right flames roared out of each fist and slammed together like jaws, continuing to devour forward. Taft had stayed leaned over, hanging off Glail with his arm muscles flexing. His long leg flung snapped forward, swinging the dust trail with it like a whip. His action happened on the opposite side as Glail's spell so the two didn't counteract with each other. The Guild Leader Cross swung his fist back blindly but a violent wave of vibrations shot out, shoving both Glail and Taft's spells back as well as sending the whole group flying. The phoenix couldn't fight through the blast either, its wings were tucked into its body as it soared backwards. All four members of Fairy Tail spun through the air as Cross pivoted one foot along the ground, which was now angled downwards behind him. He faced the group with both fists clinched at his side and a puff of air shot through his nostril like an angry bull. The spell was fired so blindly that none of the humans were hit directly and they didn't fly too wildly far, only being a about a dozen feet back from Cross. And all of them landed right on their feet, though Taft had dust spin off the ground to keep him from stumbling and Danna did stumble forward a bit.

"I need to get closer to girl!" exclaimed Reyes. She had kept her arms crossed the entire time she was tumbling and even now they were still crossed.

"On it! Grab on," cheerfully replied Danna, who just happened to land right next to Reyes. A blue band, full of magical circles between two bands appeared around her wrist. Chain links of blue, magic began to snap together out from Danna's wrist, headed right towards the jeep, connecting to it in a few seconds. Once the chain was connected Danna snapped forward, flicking her head from one shoulder to the other. Reyes wrapped her hands around Danna's shoulders, her hands looking like they literally locked into Danna's shoulders. The pair was tugged forward right behind the jeep which Cross was very aware of. He had his palm snapped forward and a vibration caused a crater in the hard ground but the blunt of the attack was headed for the women. They were pushed fiercely to the side, rolled a few times along the slope. Both women cringed and flexed as their bodies hit the ground several times. But they stayed together and they stayed connected to the jeep, not even falling behind. The magical chain stayed the same length. Cross turned a blind eye to the two warriors in front of him, keeping his body tracking the girls. Before he could spit out another spell, which had his hand track the girls, he was sent flying in the air, with dust splashing in his face and all around him. There was a pillar of golden brown dust under his feet, a present from Taft who had stomped into the ground, forming an inch thick footprint in order to cast the spell. Cross didn't even cough, or cover his mouth or even clear the dust which had already attached to his wet eyes. He simply readjusted his hand to the target. Before he could get his aim and barrings again, a bright, white flame had overcome him. This flame struck like a sword and was shaped like one too, a giant, five foot long sword. To add to the sword look, flames actually filled in Glail's hands, which were wrapped around the flames and placed one on top of the other, like he would hold a sword. With his incredible athletic ability, and magic, Glail had jumped up to face Cross's back who was still several dozen feet in the air. It was from the air where he had sliced this white flame sword down though Cross's shoulder. Though it didn't actually cut, the spell passed through Cross's body with a fierce burning sensation. Glail's hands finished down below his waste. Frustration built in Cross's thick brows and he fired another fist back blindly, vibrations bouncing off it. Some of these vibrating waves slammed into his own body and legs but they seemed to have no effect on himself. Before this fist had even flew back Glail had shot just a plain blast of white flames from one palm which was still below his waste. These flames slammed into Cross's back, still not burning his skin but causing a well of pain. More importantly since the two fighters were in the air Glail was sent flying back and Cross was sent forward just a bit, increasing the gap between them so the vibrations never got to Glail. Both men were falling back to the ground and didn't have time for another spell before their bodies landed with a thud.

"We are Fairy Tail's best duo. Let's crush this guy!" cheered Taft, bouncing up and down behind Glail.

"No. There were still two opponents in that jeep. Go catch up with your dust skating. They need you more than I do best buddy," ordered Glail, firmly but friendly. His eyes never left the back of Cross's head. The broad Cross kept his eyes on the jeep which still had the two girls being dragged behind it, though they were getting closer, the chain was shortening. "Besides, this man is obvious the ring leader. He made the decision to keep father's coffin from Fairy Tail. It is only right that such a despicable act is punished by the son's hands. Now go. I love you."

"I love you too," chuckled Taft, nodding along to all of his friends words. A mound of dirt and dust shot up from underneath each foot. He bent his knees up and down, starting to slide forward like he was actually on skates. A distasteful look over took Cross's already disgusted face as he witnessed this out of the corner of his eye.

"Like hell I'm letting anyone pass. This is my territory now!" declared Cross. He shifted his attention to the speeding Taft with both of his palms aimed towards the Fairy Tail mage. He had one foot lifted off the ground as well and it was coming forward mightily. There was a knife in Cross's shoulder, which he was completely oblivious to, with his anger and adrenaline so high. It was a small, sleek knife with a murky, marble handle. White smoke was already puffing off it, creating the shape of a man. Cross could feel the smoke around his body now, but kept his focus on Taft who was still in range. A human hand wrapped around Cross's thick neck and two feet were wrapped around his side. This hand which belonged to no other than Glail, cranked Cross's head up and yanked his body back. Glail had some sort of momentum and quickly took Cross down, making Cross's hands flail up in the air as vibrations range off them.

"This is still Magnolia, this is Fairy Tail's territory!" yelled Glail in a cool manner as white smoke puffed off his skin. Cross couldn't catch himself and landed on his back against the sloping ground. Only bits of smoke were pushed away under Cross's fall, all over Glail had teleported away, standing a few feet away, with anger and pride pressed over his flat lips.

"Keep it still," groaned Leaky. The olive green jeep had completely passed the downhill and now was moving back up another hill. Leaky was no longer at the wheel. Instead the pretty boy was in the bed of the jeep. Forey was at the wheel, with the driving cord wrapped around her tiny wrist. There was a magical blue band around the outside of the entire jeep. The magical chain coming from Danna's wrist was connected to the band on the jeep. Both Danna and Reyes were still approaching, only about a dozen feet behind the jeep now. Danna wasn't using any magic to stay on her feet, instead she was just bouncing once she got close to the ground, and let the speed of the jeep keep her in the air for a few seconds and then repeated. The magical chain was shortening on its own, bringing Danna closer every second. There was a mound of dust quickly approaching the jeep with a little Taft on top. Leaky only shook this sight off, focusing on the closer intruders with a spell in hand. In his hands was a metal canon with two round hands off the back. The canon was just a straight barrel, the size of a big turkey. Normally the hole was black but currently there was a bulging, white light emitting from the canon. "Guns Magic: Pret-"

"Dust Devil's Swarm!" interrupted Taft. He was still a quite a ways back but he was close enough to see the situation clearly. Nothing was fired from his body but towers of dust appeared under half of the jeep. The dust only stretched a few feet up but it was enough to easily tip over the speeding jeep. The jeep was flipped over the long side, covered by a raging storm of dust. Leaky never had time to fire his canon. As soon as the jeep flipped, Danna canceled her chain, so the marks disappeared from her wrist and from the jeep. She was coming back towards the ground, her body was still carrying the momentum of the speeding jeep. Two black magical circles appeared under both of Danna's feet. The same black circle appeared on the hill right beneath Danna's feet. Despite her momentum, Danna came to a complete halt when her feet touched the black circle. Reyes stayed on Danna's shoulders but she disconnected as soon as the girls were on the ground.

"Finally I can concentrate," muttered Reyes. The one eyed girl went back to crossing her arms and took in a deep breath.

"Concentrate on this," laughed Forey, in a high pitched, childish laugh. She had magically teleported behind the two girls. Despite the jeep flipping and crashing, it was still rolling in the distance, Forey looked totally fine. Nothing was bruised or torn and her hair wasn't even shaken because she had teleported away before she got dragged into the crash. She was floating in the again, a few feet up and she was only about a two feet behind the two girls. Her little hands were extended out towards Reyes's back. Reyes was directly behind Danna, only maybe an inch the side. "Open Room, Flashing Flood!" A portal opened up right in front of Forey's little hands. The portal was big as the wheel of the jeep and in the portal was a starry like energy. But quickly a white, sparkling flood of magic poured out, sloshing from side to side even as it poured out. This magical water moved with the speed like it was bursting out of a dam. It slammed right into Reyes, and the water stung as it touched her body. The force pushed Reyes right into Danna and the two women were sent stumbling back. The water splashed onto Danna as well and stung her skin as well. She cringed, tightened her muscles, especially on her face as she stumbled. Reyes didn't even show any emotion from the pain, just annoyance in her eyes. The magical water didn't stain the ground even though it splashed on it and it didn't stay on either girl's clothes. After the water poured out, the portal closed right but Forey stayed in the same spot, bobbing in the air. The girls were both only pushed back a few feet. Despite her body still stinging Danna immediately spun around Reyes and stood tall in front of her alley, who was still focusing on getting the coffin back.

"Stinging Binds!" chanted Danna, flinging both her hands forward in a ritualistic motion. Forey dove swiftly to the side, she moved fast which her small weight helped but an orange band, similar to the bands in Danna's other spells, appeared on Forey's wrist. Immediately after the band appeared Forey's entire body was engulfed in pain. It felt like she fell into a pool of rose thorns and the stinging feeling continued.

"How, how did you hit me?" whined Forey, wriggling in pain. The orange bind was still there glowing brightly.

"If I can see you I can bind you," bragged Danna. She stood tall and confident. Danna did not prepare another spell, Forey didn't seem like she'd be able to fight back or withstand the pain much longer.

"Oh, is that so?" remarked Forey with a smirk. Her body still wriggled with pain but she stood up straight, well floated up straight before disappearing. Shock and regret drooped down Danna's face as she cringed. She wanted to kick herself for not knocking the opponent out when she had an opening. "Open Room, Stolen Bombs!" Forey instantly appeared behind Danna and about a foot above her, with another starry portal in front of her. This time metal spheres rolled out, falling on Danna's shoulders. Before Danna could even turn around the bombs rolled on her back and instantly combusted in a dance of orange fire and metal shards. Reyes had stepped back quite a ways, and she was completely clear of the explosion. Little bits of charred metal flew her way but she dodged them like a blade of wind in the grass. The orange fire had completely engulfed Danna and only her high pitched, painful screams could be heard.

Not too far to the right was the sound of energy being shot out repeatedly. This was Leaky, firing golden streams of energy towards a tornado of dust and dirt. The pretty boy stood in front of the jeep which was now a heap of green metals, all but one of the wheels had completely broke off. Leaky's once beautiful blonde hair was now covered in dirt and it was all ruffled up, strands of hair were swirled around like a bird's nest. His once beautiful, white, silk suit had one sleeve completely torn off while having rips in other parts. Tan dirt, especially on the legs, covered this once spotless uniform. Leaky was firing from two, metallic green pistols in each hand. This pistols were short but they were tall and their barrels were wide. There was no slot for ammo, just pure magic shot out. Each bullet stream was about an inch long and each gun shot one after the other, leaving no breaks between a bullet firing Taft's way. Taft was in the middle of the dust tornado, slowly strolling towards Leaky as dust swarmed violently around him like a shield. The wind and dust didn't even push the speeding bullets to the side an inch and the rapid fire of magical bullets slammed into Taft's chest. Dust splashed to the ground as he was hit, the tornado lost all of its momentum. But Leaky never stopped firing. He had such a strong grip, despite his sleek physique, the guns never had a recoil. They stayed steady and just continued to blast Taft with an onslaught. Taft clinched his teeth as the bullets continued to slam against his chest but he stood his ground, stayed on his feet and wasn't pushed back.

"Dust Devil's Launch!" shouted Taft. A build up of dust shot up under his feet like a spring and the mage was propelled up and forward. While he flew his hands stayed close to his body and gripped together to create another spell. Leaky, who was red with anger and his once sweet blue eyes were shaking madly, didn't even try to adjust his aim. He just slid out one of his feet to a different angle, an action Taft thought nothing of.

"Pretty Mole Canon!" Leaky chanted. "That's for tearing my suit!" As the name suggested a dark brown canon snuck up from under the ground, to the side of Taft. It didn't make a sound, just quietly sent a ball of white energy flying Taft's way. Gray smoke erupted as the blast slammed into Taft's side. The powerful shot sent the flying Taft flying over to the side while his eyes were closed from the pain. His wincing stopped and a cloud of dust swirled up to help keep him on his feet as he landed fifty feet to the side. His dust wrapped around his feet and ankles to keep him up but it didn't keep him from sliding. He slid just a few feet back, gently bumping into Danna's back. Smoke was drifting off Danna's shoulders and charred blouse. She let out a heavy, exhausted huff at the same time that Taft did. Forey still hovered in the air, smiling happily as she bounced up and down. The short, tan girl faced Danna directly. On the other side Leaky's pistols left his hands in a crumbling, yellow aura. Another yellow air began to piece together in the shape of a gigantic, green canon that used his shoulder to support its weight.

"How are you doing?" asked Danna with a huff.

"Pretty shitty actually," spat Taft, huffing as well.

"Likewise. I'm going to borrow your magic now," hastily informed Danna because Forey had summoned another starry portal.

"Team attack?" quickly asked Taft, watching white light fill the barrel of Leaky's giant gun.

"Team attack," replied Danna, wrapping her small hands around Taft's bigger, dry hands. "Copy Bind." A white bind showed up on the both of the duo's left wrists.

"Unison Raid," the duo said together, in perfect harmony. Another flood of sparkling, white water stormed out of Forey's portal. A blast of shimmering, gold energy launched from Leaky's canon, shoving him back several feet. "Dust Devil's." Dust and dirt all around the area began to hop up and down wildly. "Hurricane Island!" Like the name said, dust swirled around the two in a hurricane pattern. The dust went from just bouncing to spinning violently at hundreds miles of hours. The hurricane of dust engulfed both Forey and Leaky and hundreds of feet behind them. The spell only made three spins around the duo before scattering all around. Both Danna and Taft were covered in sweat and shaking tiredly, but they stayed standing and kept their eyes open. When the mess cleared both Forey and Leaky were on their backs with their arms extended and their heads back. Forey was completely knocked out while Leaky had some consciousness left though it was fading as his eyes fought closure.

"U, u, unison raid. At this level? How?" stuttered a baffled Leaky. His words were quiet as they were pushed out with one of his lasts breaths.

"Because we are awesome!" bragged Taft, with a smile climbing up to his ears.

"Because we are Fairy Tail's A Team. We know each others magic as well as our own almost," clarified Danna, with her own proud smile. Leaky had no reply as his eyes closed. Right after Taft and Danna collapsed to their knees but didn't fall any further. They stayed quiet, huffing and puffing their energy back. With the battlefield clear they could hear the sound of vibrations and crackling flames. A small, pale fist knocked on the top of both Taft and Danna's heads. The impact didn't do much but push their heads down and sting a little. Reyes was standing to their side, with a thick coating of dust over her entire body. Right behind her was the prize, the metal coffin of the ninth guild master of Fairy Tail, who was safely inside.

"Idiots. I was in the battle field when you pulled that stunt," growled Reyes. Danna's eyes bobbed with sadness, she had completely forgot about Reyes. Taft just awkwardly laughed it off.


	6. Chaos Bones Arc: Family Flames

Cross and Glail were still on the slanted hill, Cross having the high ground. Both mages were covered in bruises and sweat. But Cross stood a little taller and his body was a little cleaner. Only a bit of Glail's white shirt remained, it hung off his shoulder. With a mighty pull, Glail grabbed the clump of cloth and ripped it right off before tossing it to the side. As his muscular arms hinter, Glail's chest was rippled and he had a six pack. The two men stood a few feet apart and just stared furiously at each other, both annoyed for their own reasons. They just exchanged a flurry of spells and now were huffing to catch their breaths.

"Shirtless eh, guess I'll do the same, free up my movements," remarked Cross. He shrugged his shoulders up and back. On his shoulders way back down his black robe rolled off. His large arms shook to wriggle free of the sleeves which let the entire top of the robe fall down below his waste. Cross's pecks were as big as his hands. His muscles were clean, no scars or bruises. Glail barely paid attention to this, just continued to stare down Cross. "So by the way you kept saying dad, I'm assuming you are son to the ninth master." Cross spoke with a calm expression and his lips barely moved.

"Yeah, what's it to ya?" barked Glail, trying to remain emotionless as well.

"I like to read mage magazines. Keeps me up to date on all the important figures in the legal mage guilds. I read about your father plenty of times. And of course the tenth master, and Reyes, and Corbac, and that dragon slayer girl. I'm pretty sure everyone in this attack team I have seen in a magazine, but not you. But in our short time together I can tell you're rather formidable. That or I am rather weak," chuckled Cross, crinkling his forehead as he laughed. But Glail was not amused. "So if you were a major player in your guild, especially being the master's son, why have I never read or even heard about you?"

"Because I just joined Fairy Tail today!" loudly mentioned Glail. He clinched the fist that held his guild mark and pounded the fist against his sweaty chest, keeping the guild mark pointed towards Cross. Cross's eyebrows came together, completely confused. Before he could ask, Glail kept talking. "My father wanted me to join the guild as soon as I could walk, maybe even sooner. But of course that never happened, my mother convinced him that was silly. When I actually was old enough to realistically join, I refused. I didn't feel like I deserved the guild mark. I grew up around Fairy Tail, I spent most of my childhood in that guild. I saw all these amazing people. Their strength, their kindness, their morals. I couldn't do that guild mark justice, so I didn't want to wear it. Instead I trained, I traveled a bit, or sometimes I just stayed with a guild member at their house and learned from them. So while I was doing stuff, I was rarely doing missions, and never with a Fairy Tail brand, so I never made a splash in the world of mages." Glail stayed standing, as did Cross, they only breathed, no spells were being prepared. There wasn't a sense of magic around, so neither was even doing a secret spell.

"I see. That is interesting. That is a rather mature decision for a young boy to make. I am impressed," gently said Cross while clearing his throat. "I have one more question before we go and bash in each other's skulls again."

"Shoot."

"I saw your father fight just once. The grand magic games had a guild master's round, it was a battle royal. He was scary. I'm sure I don't have to explain his battle presence to you. But the way he fought, I don't expect you to be on the same level as him. But you are using the same magic. But his was just so different. Do you know why that is?" Legitimate interested rested on Cross's soft expression.

"I do actually," calmly replied Glail. His eyes were still raging with anger but his voice was gentle like the tide. "White Flames is a magic that my father picked up when he was a young, starry eyed boy. Before he had really encountered how tough and cruel the world was. White Fire is a fire that is more powerful when the user is calm or happy, in a good mood. My father ended up developing a sort of anger problem. Which anger weakens the White Flames. But he admitted to me that he was glad he chose this magic. It gave him a reason to stay positive, to get rid of his anger. It helped his character. I saw the importance in that, and so I wanted the same for me. So I chose this magic. But right now I am oh so very angry. I am staring right at the man who is trying to keep my father's body from Magnolia, where it belongs. It is such a despicable action. My father needs to be buried in Magnolia, but you're trying to have that not be the case. So I am furious, so my magic is much different. Especially considering you saw my father in the magic games, a place he was probably the strongest he could ever be because he had no reason to be angry against those opponents, it was just a fun competition."

"Then you need to breath," advised Cross in a friendly tone. His words made Glail squint in confusion. Cross thought about using his hands to illustrate the breathing motion but he decided against it, thinking any movements might make Glail attack. "A clear head is what you need. Don't get over your anger because anger isn't so easily resolved. But you need to put your anger on hold, forget about it until your fight is won. And to do that, use deep breaths, deep slow breaths, and exhale your anger out."

"Why are you trying to help make me stronger? Just because we have had a nice conversation does not change the fact we are still enemies that will fight again in a few seconds," wondered Glail, still with a confused mug.

"Because," replied Cross with admiration gleaming in his eyes. "I am not a man obsessed with fighting, but seeing your father fight, it filled me with adrenaline and just the drive to fight that man so badly. But now there is only you, I doubt I'll meet another mage who has the white flames and I don't think our paths will cross again as enemies. So I want to enjoy this fight and get to fight the fullest version of these white flames as I can. So in order to do that, you need to relax. My comrades are all defeated I can feel it. You are very close to getting your father back where you say he belongs. Things are looking good for your team. It is a beautiful, sunny day. And you have plenty of beautiful women in your guild. Let those positives take over in your mind." Glail just continued to glare at Cross, his face no longer confused.

"Can we just, go back to fighting now? You helped, now I'm too annoyed to be angry," Glail whined. Cross smirked happily while sliding his back foot to the side.

"We can fight. But I have had the upper hand so far. If you don't get happy. You'll die." Cross's happy expression turned sour as he pulled back one hand with his fingers extended and flexing. "Shaking King's Mighty Roar!" Cross instantly bent over and slammed his shaking palm into the ground. As he did this the ground around him was already vibrating, sending splashes of dirt and dust up all around. When his palm hit the ground a streak of violent vibrations burst out and skated along the ground. These vibrations slithered forward like a snake and kicked up a trail of ground chunks and dirt behind them. The vibrations only ran through a faint trail of white flames. Glail was rocketed to the side, curving back towards Cross with white flames being shot from his hands which were hanging behind him. Glail stayed on the ground though, taking long, jumping strides. There was something in his left hand, his fingers were wrapped around it. But the white fire surged brightly from both hands so Cross didn't notice at all. Cross was well aware of the charging boy, his head was turned right at Glail. Cross's big body was back up straight and his broad side was facing Glail's path. The anger had faded from Glail's eyes almost entirely. His eyes were still narrow but now with determination. "Come on, I thought you'd learn. You can't come straight at me, it didn't work before," groaned Cross, rolling his eyes. "Shaking King's Valiant Helmet." Cross bent his front knee and lowered his head down towards the rampant Glail. Vibrations roared off Cross's head which shook Glail's skin but they didn't really hurt. The real attack was the oncoming headbutt. Glail flicked his left wrist just slightly the side, ditching what he had in his hand. His hands continued to spit fire and drive himself forward. Cross's head continued forward, slamming right into Glail's own head, bursting Glail into smoke. Cross didn't flinch at this sudden change, knowing that it was some sort of spell he kept his guard up. The object Glail tossed was one of his marble handle knives, and it was only a few feet in front of Cross, just barely to the side, right in his sight line. Cross picked up on it right away, and white smoke was just beginning to form around it. Cross just sighed again, rolling his eyes as he stomped, creating a wave of vibrations that cracked the knife into bits. The handle did remain in tact though but it bounced back violently over a hundred feet. Cross kept his eyes on the knife bits, waiting for the white smoke to expand and Glail to appear. But that never happened.

"White Lotus Summer Volcano!" roared Glail. He stood back almost right where he started before he charged at Cross. There was his second knife right at his feet. He was bent over, with his palms pressed right into the hot dirt. Round towers of white, spiraling flames had erupted from the ground in front of him. These towers erupted one after the other, creating a path that was directed right at Cross. Despite the distance between the two the spell engulfed Cross before he could even turn around. The towers weren't wider than Cross was so his shoulders and arms were still visible as the flames ran through his body. Cross couldn't help but grimace as he was lifted a few feet in the air. He wasn't flipped back much, coming back to land on his feet as he fell back down. As he was falling a sleek knife was spiraling through the air his way. The knife rotated perfectly, especially considering it was sent flying by Glail's kick. Smoke was already spinning off the knife. This smoke expanded into the form of Glail right as Cross's feet touched the ground. At this point Glail was just a few feet in front of Cross, still flying forward. Cross was not helpless, although he still grimaced and clenched onto his bottom lip. His fists were held right next to his chest, rocking with vibrations.

"Shaking King's Bear Maul!" screamed Cross in his booming deep voice. With his scream both fists were propelled forward, shooting vibrations that were so wild they made his own skin slosh around like a water.

"Phynn's Technique, Raging Dragon Fist!" Glail shouted back, with his fist sticking out far in front of his head. White flames wrapped around his fist. The flames were wrapped in the shape of an open mouth that extended off the fist a few inches. Glail's momentum continued forward and he slammed his fiery fist right into the front of Cross's face, singeing his beard a bit and the fist continued to push forward. That didn't stop Cross from attacking as well, sending his fists into Glail's stomach, swishing Glail's stomach around like water in a fishbowl. Glail was sent rocketed backwards, leaning almost straight back as he flew. Cross was knocked off his feet as well, but he just fell straight down onto his back. Glail slid on the ground for a while, creating a swarm of dust as he slid and all he could do was flew his muscles. Cross was still conscious, but he wasn't making any moves to get back up or cast another spell. He just laid there, breathing. There were footsteps from behind him, and he tried to roll his eyes back to see who it was. All he saw was an abnormally long, silver key being jammed into his forehead.

"Sleeping lock," quietly muttered Reyes, standing tall with the key's handle resting in her pale palm. A heavy sleep fogged in Cross's eyes and his eyelids shut quickly, a light snore leaked from his nose. In the distance behind her was Taft and Danna, both of them limping and panting. "Charging in like that was foolish," critiqued Reyes, her words louder to reach Glail. "You're not the close combat fighter. But Cross proved that he is good in that regard."

"I know," panted Glail, still on his back. "But I was just rolling with the momentum I had from my surprise attack. I thought it'd work. But hey, we had a draw. That's not bad." A tired little smile rolled on Glail's lips as Reyes just rolled her eyes, walking forward with the coffin tired around her back. She just left Cross there, her spell wouldn't last forever and he wasn't going to try to mess with Fairy Tail again.


	7. Chaos Bones Arc: Return Home

After a long, tedious walk, all five members of the attack team had returned to the guild. Most of the guild members from earlier were still there and they were all down on the first floor celebrating. Taft and Danna were in the middle of these celebrations, slamming wooden mugs of ale against other mugs before chugging them down. Cheers and hollers were heard all around while Taft was telling exaggerated stories of the fights and his involvement in them. Danna nodded along, didn't add to his lies but didn't rat him out. Most of the members around ate up every story. Reyes was all alone in the corner of the room, leaning against the sturdy wall. That was exactly where she wanted to be, with her head dipped and her arms crossed. Glail was no where in sight because he was down in the basement where he took the coffin. Up on the second level balcony were Master Ales and Phynn. The green haired Phynn had just got there, having strolled up the stairs and walked up to Ales's back. The orange haired guild master was leaning over the railing, happily watching her guild members celebrate merrily. She heard Phynn's steps on the creaky wood and turned around to face the young woman. Phynn had a gentle yet cocky smirk on her face. Her eyes were lit up, she looked like she knew something. Ales recognized this look right away and just smiled at Phynn, waiting for her to speak first.

"So, how much did you pay Chaos Bones to put up that act?" accused Phynn, though she wasn't angry or hostile. Ales just widened her eyes, looking completely innocent and surprised.

"I don't follow," Ales lied. Phynn just smirked again as she continued to walk closer.

"Don't lie to me. I don't think any of the others noticed, but I know that was all some sort of test. Chaos Bones was never against us, they were never going to sell off the coffin. It was all an act that you put together." Phynn looked awful proud of herself for putting that together. She stopped just a foot short of Ales, looking her master right in the eye.

"How'd you figure out?" sighed Ales.

"You, probably more than anyone except Glail, loved The Ninth. And you especially know the importance of him being buried in Magnolia. You don't have a problem with violence, you would've stopped those two before they teleported away and got that coffin. And I know Reyes, she can hack into some magical room and fight easily. You just had here there are insurance, since Chaos Bones is a mercenary guild after all, you can't entirely trust them. And just talking to the guy I fought. He wasn't entirely devoted to the cause, I could hear it in his voice, something was off. So I came to the conclusion that it was a test. Specifically a test for Glail and his leadership skills."

"You'd be correct," quietly responded Ales with a nod.

"And?" curiously wondered Phynn.

"He passed. He quickly volunteered to lead the team. And then he took on the strongest opponent so the rest of the team could finish the mission, trusting the rest of the team to finish the mission." Phynn smiled happily at the positive words.

"Yeah, he did good. One last question. Chaos Bones had to lose then, so did they all hold back?" Curiosity rang in Phynn's voice and both of her hands had fingers crossed tight. She did not want her victory to be one that her opponent didn't fully try.

"I talked to Cross about it just a bit ago. He says everyone except himself actually went full out. They had intended to throw the matches if needed, but instead they were impressed by your strengths and lost giving it their all." Phynn tried to keep her emotions off her face but she was dancing wildly on the inside.

"Wow, Cross and Glail came to a draw, and Glail went all out, yet Cross was holding back you say. That man-"

"Is quite scary strong," interrupted Ales. She didn't speak with fear though, Cross was nothing on her level. "I am glad we are on his good side though. I wouldn't want any of you to actually have to go against him. The S class mages and yourself could be okay I think. I don't actually know his true strength, so its all just guessing. Anyway."

"So what's next for Glail?"

"You'll see," answered Ales with a smirk.

"So I had my first fight as a Fairy Tail mage today," muttered Glail. He was in the basement of the guild. Cheers and shouts from above leaked until the messy basement. It wasn't full of much clutter, just the ceiling was cracked, and the paint on the walls was peeling. The floor was also curved inwards slightly, Glail stood in a spot that especially was sinking. Leaning against the wall was the shining metal coffin containing one Gyro Shivok. Glail was still in his torn pants, with no shirt on. His body was stained with dirt, from his head to his toes. His fluffy hair was now sleek with sweat and formed a nest of dirt and sweat. "It was hard. To keep my anger down against an opponent I had a good reason to be mad at. I don't know how you did it. The enemy wanted me to give a better fight. So he walked me through calming down, and it helped a little. I still wasn't near my full power though. I'll work it on it. I promise I will do the white lotus justice." Tears dripped down Glail's closed eyes, trailing down his long arms and onto the stem of a white rose in his hands. Slowly, while still crying, Glail knelt down and placed the rose against the bottom of the coffin. His fingers were bleeding just slightly from the rose's thorns that he didn't even try to avoid. "A man must always appreciate flowers. Because flowers are manly," Glail laughed, tears bounced down his face as he head shook.

"Sorry to interrupt," quietly mentioned Danna. She peaked her head down the stairs with a friendly smile, and her gold hair was bouncing around. She was wearing her torn, teal blouse and was still covered in dirt. Though her face and hair looked like they had been giving a quick wash. Her hair was now tied behind her head in a fluffy ponytail. Glail looked away immediately and quickly tried to wipe the slight tears from his cheeks.

"It's fine," replied Glail softly, flashing a quick smile. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check on you," informed Danna with concern flushed on her cheeks. She took soft steps down the stairs, even the slightest step made her fluffy hair bounce.

"That's sweet. I'm doing fine, great even now that dad is where he belongs. Was just having one last talk. The funeral is tomorrow. I just." Tears flooded back down Glail's face, which he kept turned away from Danna, though she could see what was going on. Sadness was pressed down on Danna's face but she didn't see anything. The jangle of a chain could be heard as she pulled a medallion from her pocket. The gold medallion was as big as Danna's palm. The medallion had a ring on the outside and the inside was a plus symbol. There were carvings all along the ring on both sides, in an ancient magical language. The jingle made Glail peak up his ears and glance over. His eyes immediately recognized the medallion and they shot open with glee.

"Father's medal!" joyously exclaimed Glail, scrambling over towards Danna. "How did you-"

"Ales had it," interrupted Danna. She hung the medal off her palm towards Glail so he could easily snatch it up. "I don't know how. But she did. She asked me to give it to you." Danna's eyes shot wide open and her cheeks blushed bright pink as Glail lunged at her and wrapped his muscular arms around her torso. His wet face was nuzzled in her shoulder.

"Thank you."


	8. Ganiel's Tower Arc: The Rescue Mission

"She held my hand, I'm making progress, it is great!" exclaimed the brunette Taft. He sat on a creaky stool around a round wooden table in Fairy Tail's guild hall. On the table but in his hand was a foamy beer. His conversation companions were Freya "The Zombie" Meers and S Class Mage Corbac Bado. Corbac was twenty six years old but he looked older and Freya was twenty one and she looked it. They sat right across from Taft with their stools really close together. Each of them had a foamy beer in a wooden mug in one hand and their other hands were held together tightly on the table. Fairy Tail was booming loud, with more people than during the Chaos Bones event. Months had passed since that event. Ales and Reyes were inside a room on the second floor. Phynn and Glail were off on a mission together. Danna was in the big room, way across from Taft. She had a few people around her but her attention was down at a piece of thick paper where she was sketching a beautiful tree. Taft took peaks her way every once in a while with a smile stained on his face. Both Corbac and Freya looked at Taft with flat, unamused stares. Freya stood tall at five foot nine and Corbac was just an inch taller. Freya was a petite woman, she had a gentle smile and gentle cheeks. She had glowing, green eyes that lovingly glanced over to her boyfriend. Her short, white hair barely fell past her chin. Currently it was slicked back and held back with a royal blue headband. A green, silk blouse was resting over her shoulders like a curtain. It stopped short of her belly button. She had on a tight, black pants that were highlighted with shiny, gold belt. Sandals, with plenty of hooks and loops, topped off her outfit. She had her guild mark, in a light gray color, on her neck, closer to her collarbone. Corbac had his, a dark purple, on his neck but more below his jaw. He had muscular arms and a body that was similar to Glail's. Corbac's resting face was just meaner than the sweet Glail though. He had sharp, dark purple eyes that went well with his jagged, long, dark blue hair. On his wrist were several, thick rubber ties used for his hair, but currently the hair just sprayed back, coming close to his waste, engulfing the shirt on his chest.

"Dude, she held your hand in order to help do the unison raid spell," informed Corbac with a disappointed glare.

"Yeah dude, she likes Glail, badly," mentioned Freya with the same stare as her boyfriend Corbac. Their negative faces and words did not drown out Taft's smile as he threw beer back down his throat.

"Of course she does, everyone likes Glail. That man is fantastic. I don't have to beat him, he isn't interested in her, I am. And I'm great myself. I'll get her, you'll see," proudly stated Taft, leaning back with a confident smile. Neither Corbac or Freya changed their disgusted mugs and they continued to stare at their friend. Suddenly the guild burst with more cheer as the giant doors were swung open. Phynn danced into the guild hall, waving around a big sack of money, a sack as big as her torso. Glail trailed behind her with calm steps and his face wasn't bragging like his half sister's was. His father's medallion hung off his neck, outside of his ragged shirt. Everyone looked more excited upon the duo's entrance, but Danna's face especially lit up. Taft didn't notice this because his face was just as happy as he trotted over towards his best friend.

"Who wants to gamble!" shouted Phynn, followed by a joyous gamble as she threw the bag of gold down on a table. The jingle of coins was heard clearly, increasing the cheers even more.

"The hell did you do, rob a mayor?" accused Corbac with perplexed eyes. His back was facing the door so his neck was twisted around his shoulder. Freya took the smarter route and just spun her entire body around her stool.

"Yeah the hell did you do. I thought your mission was just to be the bodyguards for some wedding," mentioned Taft. The brunette had already strolled the front of the room and slammed his hand up into Glail's. Danna was on the farthest side from the door and she was trotting happily towards Glail.

"They didn't include this in the mission offer, but turns out it was the wedding of Mayor Taumbuach's daughter," loudly informed Phynn. She was spinning around in circles slowly, trying to eat up everyone's jealous look.

"So you robbed a mayor," muttered Corbac, rolling his eyes. Freya nudged him with her tiny elbow to get him to shut up, she was eagerly awaiting the rest of the story. Glail kept quiet, keeping a content smile on his face. Phynn shot her eyes to glare at Corbac but only for a second, she went back to glancing around the room.

"Anyway the ones threatening the wedding were notorious thief guild Golden Bandit. They attacked, we shut them down. The wedding continued and all was well. The mayor was so grateful he didn't know how to repay us. I asked him to let us raid Golden Bandit's guild and keep everything inside, since they are not a legal guild. He said that was fine. We interrogated one of their members to get their HQ. And the rest is history. Here we are, crazy rich. There is even more of this, we dropped some off in a safe. This is just my pocket money!" Phynn was bragging loudly and her smile stretched across her ear. As this went on Glail's eyes noticed something on the second floor. Out of Ales's office door, which was to the left of the balcony, left an old, fat man in a green cloak. Ales and Reyes followed him out of the door. There was a snake woman tattoo on the old man's neck, it was green.

"What is the guild master of Lamia Scale doing here?" curiously asked Glail, with his head tilted up to watch the scene. His words were quiet, only Taft heard him.

"Even on the road you guys didn't hear?" Taft wondered with surprise widening his eyes.

"Hear what?" Glail replied, still quiet. Phynn's excellent hearing caught onto this conversation even amongst the loud merriment and her head twisted over to listen better.

"There was a mass kidnapping in Margaret Town. Lamia Scale sent their strongest they had available to do a rescue, including both their S class mages, Remy, Leon the Third and a few others and they failed," informed Taft. Gasps leaked from both Phynn and Glail's shocked mouths. "While they have a few mages left, Lamia Scale doesn't want to try another rescue mission, they are too scared. So the master came to Fairy Tail to help. They have working out a plan for a few days. Danna and I are included. Ales wanted you in it on Glail if you came back in time, which you did."

"Of course I'll help," declared Glail firmly. Phynn just nodded behind her half brother.

"Oh good you are back, great timing," shouted Ales, still on the second floor. She stopping and leaned over the railing, looking right at Glail and Phynn. Reyes continued forward behind the lamia scale master, walking him out of the building. "Fairy Tail's rescue team is heading out today. I want to have one last meeting with my S class mages and Phynn, so get up here in my office. Then I'll brief the rescue team."

"Are you sure about this?" asked Phynn. She was inside Ales's square office. The room had a smooth, glazed wooden table in the middle and at one end of the table was a twenty foot tall, red, plushy throne. Phynn was pushing against the swinging metal door with her forearm and Corbac was behind her. She stayed in the doorway, with the door opened a crack.

"Not to brag, alright I'll brag," said Corbac with a proud grin. "But I am very knowledgeable engineer, and Freya is a an amazing biologist. We are certain."

"But we can't wait for this change to happen. We need to get those hostages out. Open the door, let's get the others in here," ordered Ales firmly. Reyes stayed back in the corner behind the throne, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. Ales was sitting in the cushy thrown, the soft cushions wrapping around part of her body. Phynn leaned into the door , pushing the light door wide open.

"Glail, Taft, Danna, Freya, get in here," barked Phynn commandingly. The other guild members looked back to the door but then carried back to their activities. The four mages mentioned were all sitting around the same table playing guards. At the same time they all jumped to their feet.

"Corbac and Phynn, say a quick goodbye and then head out to the prison. I'd like to get that information before the rescue team gets to the tower," instructed Ales. The two mages gave a sturdy nod before filing out of the room. "Be scary, be demanding, but be safe you two." Worry was just slightly wavering in Ales's throat but her face remained tough.

"We will be safe, I have the big tough S class mage to protect me," teased Phynn, flashing her tongue out.

"We will complete the mission master, and return just fine. We have the easy mission," said Corbac, though he was already walking away from the door. He took one step down the stairs and stopped to embrace Freya who was jogging up the stairs. Phynn waited at the top back in the hallway, motioning for Glail with her eyes.

"Be safe alright, be careful," whispered Corbac, looking lovingly into Freya's eyes. Their foreheads were pushed together and he ran his hand gently through her hair.

"I can't die remember," whispered Freya back, laughing slightly.

"But you can be knocked out, then used to power this tower," replied Corbac, fear glazing over his eyes.

"I know. But we have a good plan, and a good team. All will be fine. Now go, do your part, see you in a few days." Freya sidestepped her boyfriend and gave him a gentle push down the stairs. "I love you."

"I love you too," softly said Corbac, trotting down the stairs. Behind him, Glail and Phynn were together having their own little chat.

"Alright don't die, don't do anything stupid," informed Glail with a serious look in his eyes.

"I was going to say that to you. See you in a few days," replied Phynn, chuckling slightly. Just like that she continued to the stairs while Glail and Freya filed into the office. Reyes stayed in her back corner, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed and serious. Ales was still sinking into her squishy chair. Taft and Danna slipped into chairs on the long side of the table. Energetically Danna patted to a wooden chair right next to her, motioning to Glail. The black haired boy flashed a smile as he bounced over towards his friend. He stood right behind the chair, pressing his arms on its back and leaning forward, with his eyes focusing on Ales. Freya took only a few steps in before stopping. She stayed standing and focused her eyes on Ales.

"Alright well I won't waste your time. We want you to head out right after this meeting," spoke Ales, loudly and quickly. Despite her increased speed her words were still clear. The group just nodded, not opening their mouths to make any comments. Glail wanted to, he was the least informed out of everyone, there was so much he wanted to know but he trusted Ales would fill him in. "There is a tower, its out in the middle of a jungle but its closest to Margaret town. Civilians and members of Lamia Scale are being held her. I don't know how much you know Glail. But civilians were being kidnapped from Margaret town and brought into this tower. Lamia Scale launched a rescue but they were defeated and captured. One escaped though, which is how we got the information you're about to hear. We are calling this Ganiel's Tower, because it is being run by Ganiel Roberts. Do you know who that is?" Reyes knew but Ales knew she knew so there was not point for Reyes to say anything. Glail, Taft and Danna shrugged and waved their heads from side to side. Freya swished her lips from side to side, trying to fight for the information from her brain.

"I think," she mumbled. "It sounds familiar."

"He gave us trouble a while back. I don't even think Taft was in the guild yet, Danna you might not have been either. Anyway. He is a genius. A mind for technology and genetics, and he is damn good with his words. That's how he gets people on his side. He was, he should be, in jail. But the lamia scale mage was certain he saw Ganiel. Ganiel has a really noticeable face," informed Ales.

"Maybe it is some sort of morphing magic, this guy is trying to look like Ganiel to hide his true identity?" blurted Taft with his hand raised up high.

"It is not," answered Ales, keeping her straight face. Taft's lips perked together, looking perplexed but he stayed quiet. "We contacted the prison so they checked up on Ganiel. Turns out it was a shape shifter mage in his place. We don't know when they switched. That's where Corbac and Phynn are going, to go interrogate this shape shifter and get some answers. Now I'm sure you're wondering. Why don't Corbac and Phynn help with the rescue mission, that is more important right?" Danna, Taft and Glail all nodded up and down repeatedly. "The escapee said that the S class mages were defeated easier than anyone else in the rescue party. Which is very perplexing. He had some blood on his clothes from one of the enemies. So our genius Freya analyzed it. There was ankheiser dna mixed with the human dna. Now I'm sure you all have heard about the ankheiser demon. You probably think it is a myth, a legend. But it is a real. A demon that is stronger the stronger its opponent is. So this is how the S class mages were easily disposed of. The escapee said the weaker lamia scale mages were then defeated next. It was the middle strength mages that had the best luck. So that is why this team is formed. You are all a bit stronger than the normal mages of Lamia Scale, but not near the level of their S class mages." That cleared up one of the questions that was nagging in everyone's face.

"The ankheiser should all be dead," mentioned Reyes sourly. "I killed them all. But I trust Freya's results." Freya smiled softly while Reyes looked even more angry. Taft opened his mouth, he wanted to hear the full story but he decided it wasn't the right time and closed his mouth.

"This is another question, one of many that this situation presents," said Ales, still wearing a frustrated look. "The ankheiser should be dead. and how they got the dna mixed with humans and able to use that trait of the ankheiser. Not to mention who is working with Ganiel. He has one reoccurring associate, Marin, she is in love with him or something dumb. Lamia Scale is sending someone to her last known location but I am sure she is in that tower. Besides her Ganiel never had a constant team, he just used different people and moved on. So we have no idea who is with. The escapee couldn't recognize the others. But he said there were five total opponents. And five of you guys. He said that the weaker mages still stood no chance, so we don't want to put anyone else in danger. I believe in you five. Now there is one la-"

"Wait us five?" interrupted Taft, his eyebrows furrowed. "I only count four. I'd assume Reyes was the fifth but you said S class mages don't stand a chance." Ales opened her mouth to answer but Reyes's voice already filled the air, she was wearing a cocky smirk and that could be heard in her words.

"My magic is keys and locks. I'm sure you've seen it before idiot," insulted Reyes sassily, flashing her tongue. "I can set locks on my magic power. So I'll set my level so it is on the same as level as yours. I'll be able to adjust it weaker or stronger if needed." Reyes stood tall, her smirk now morphing into a wide smile that covered her face.

"That's awesome, it'll be good to have you. Even if you won't be as powerful as usual, your presence is reassuring," calmly complimented Glail with a sweet smile.

"Anyway," interrupted Ales. "You can have this conversation on the train over. I have more information. So we got a scan of the tower through magic and we had the genius inventor Corbac analyze it. He says it is a weapon. It is using the magic power of the hostages as its power. It'll be some sort of canon. We don't know its power or its target, but that doesn't matter because we won't let it launch. Corbac thinks the hostages have already had their magic power sucked but he isn't sure. So we want to send in two teams. We know the hostages are being held at the bottom of the tower and the weapon is at the very tip. Glail and Freya, you two will go to the hostages, free them. We need to ensure their safety and we also aren't completely sure that they won't still power the weapon, so they need to a priority. But if Corbac's theory is right and the weapon can fire with the power its got from them already, it'll also need to be destroyed regardless of what happens with the hostages. So the rest of you will climb to the top and destroy it. You'll have communication lacrima with you so we will update you on anything more we learn. Now I'd like you to pack your things and head out as soon as possible. Any questions?"

"After we save the day. How long are we able to hold it over Leon the Third's head that we beat opponents he couldn't?" wondered Taft with a cocky smile.

"Hey dude that's not cool," angrily blurted Glail. "We can't make fun of Leon for being weak." His angry face quickly morphed into a playful smile as he and Taft shared a high five. A brief smile rolled over Ales's face.

"Confidence is good. But Lamia Scale was defeated. Remember that. Be confident, be efficient, but don't be cocky. Be safe you guys," lectured Ales with worry waving in her eyes.

"Of course. Let's roll out Fairy Tail Rescue Team!" loudly declared Glail. He strolled to the door with long, bouncing steps and the other followed, cheering confidently.


	9. Ganiel's Tower Arc: Team

"Do we have to keep the snake mages as hostages. They'll attract rescuers faster," whined Victoria Lemont. Her voice was high pitched and nasally. The twenty year old was a five foot tall, scrawny mage. There was a magical presence lingering off of her but no guild mark. Her pink hair was cut completely straight, creating bangs right before her eyebrows. The hair fell down farther around the rest of her body, being cut impeccably straight at her shoulders. A white, leather jacket was thrown over her shoulders, with blue tassels lined down both sleeves. Her shorts were a matching white leather but they were super short, only coming four inches down her tiny legs. Her legs were smooth and clean, but her feet, especially the bottoms, were tattered in scars, like she stood on thorns. These scars were barely noticeable because both feet were covered by thin, royal blue socks. She had on no shoes nor were there shoes around her. To her side was a little drum the size of a dinner plate. It was noticeably used, with chips on the metallic paint of the sides but it was in working shape. Around her neck, right at her breasts dangled a drumstick which had blue, coarse thread tied around its back which looped around Vicki's neck. Her frail body was resting on a slanted metal chair that was just a bunch of slabs of metal quickly welded together. This chair was in a circle with four other chairs. They were not identical at all, but they were all constructed the same way, slabs of metal welded together then welded to a cylinder base that was welded to the ground. There was an equally lopsided and uneven table in the middle of the chair circle. A map of the tower and schematics of the tower's canon as well as pages of other notes were on papers scattered on the table. Near the edge of the table was a round, clear ball on a fake gold stand, keeping it from rolling around. This ball was a communication lacrima. This was the second floor of four. The rest of the floor was completely empty, just aged, silver metal for a floor, ceiling and walls. On opposite sides of the wall there was both a crooked, staircase of metal slabs going in a spiral up and going in a spiral down. The holes these staircases went through were jagged, cut in a rough circle. Each floor was roughly one hundred feet above the next. This floor was the ground floor, with the first floor being underground. This floor was skinnier than the third floor, which was filled with everyone's rooms and was rather fat, but fatter then the top floor. The basement was the widest, having several hallways and paths branching out, with the other three floors just being one round room. There were no posters, no paint, no sort of decorations, just cold steel. The only color came from the other three humans currently occupying the chairs. Victoria was slouched back in her chair, her back against the seat and her head just barely peeking over the table. Sitting somewhat across from Victoria, sitting completely straight up was the man of the tower, Ganiel Roberts.

"We need them to power the tower. If we killed them we would have to go kidnap more people. This way our job is done. All we need to do is wait. Yes people will probably come with another rescue mission. But no matter who we kidnap, rescuers will still come. There isn't much time now. Our new ability, mixed with our already strong magic, I think we will be just fine," spoke Ganiel, hissing with every word. Confidence rang in every word and it was obvious in his pose. He had greenish-yellow hair which was short in the back but thicker in the front and was gelled slightly to stick out instead of flopping onto his forehead. Ganiel was thirty-two years young but he could pass as twenty five. This was mostly due to his smooth, round baby face. His eyes showed the most age, having slight wrinkles wave around them. His blue-gray eyes were layered with experience and wear. There was a devilish look to his confidence, just an untrustworthy and crazed look resting on his face. His pale skin was flawless all across his body. The only part of his body that wasn't flawless were his fingernails, he didn't have any, just scars in their place. Over his body was a loose, food and sweat stained tank top. His tank top was very thin at the shoulders, revealing that Ganiel's skinny body had obvious tones to the small bit of muscle he had. The top was accompanied by equally stained, equally baggy, cotton pants, olive in color. His feet were unscarred, covered in dark, wooden shoes, ones that were perfectly carved for his feet. Ganiel sat with one knee up on the chair, and his elbow stacked on that knee, supporting his jaw in his hand. His eyes looked at the papers on the table, no paper in particular just for what the papers represented. Sitting right next to Ganiel, in a chair that was closer together to his chair than any of the chairs were to each other, was Marin Tray. Marin Tray was a twenty nine year old, with the same hair color as Ganiel, though hers was dyed. She stood at five foot ten, just an inch taller than her beloved Ganiel.

"Don't question Ganiel's decision," barked Marin. Her voice was higher pitched but still had a rough edge. Her purple eyes glared at Victoria angrily, but then turned and gazed at Ganiel lovingly. She switched her glares back and forth as her head swiveled. "The only one allowed to have a voice here besides myself and Ganiel the doctor, you two are just muscle." Marin didn't look at the fourth person in the room, Baron Goose, but he was the other muscle she mentioned. The last member of the team, the doctor, was in the third floor sleeping. Marin wasn't doing anything, just sat their straight up. She was the same thickness as Ganiel and practically the same weight, though she carried less muscle. Her outfit was just as identical too, though her tank top was gray, had different stains and she filled it out better. Her pants were the exact same, even the size. Instead of wooden shoes however she had soft, fuzzy slippers in the shape of little bunnies on each foot. Marin also had all of her fingernails in tact. She did however have something Ganiel did not, a thick, puffy scar straight across her neck. Marin was completely content with just sitting near Ganiel. The last in the room, Baron, was the only one actually doing something. He was swinging a yo-yo casually up and down, the dirty string holding together a scratched, wooden yo-yo. The action was simple enough but it was keeping Baron entertained, plastering a childish smile on his rough, mean face. This mean look was mostly because his thick, dark eyebrows and violent looking, brown eyes. His muscular demeanor and standing at six foot four didn't help his scary look at all. He wasn't built as thick as Cross or Jape, but he was well off in the muscular department. The giant's clothes were the least intimidating thing about him, less intimidating than the joyful smile and the yo-yo. Over his body, hugging his muscles tightly was a clothe onesie, one that was adult sized. These pajamas were sky blue in color. While tight around his biceps and legs, the clothe was baggy around his joints. He wasn't wearing shoes, his feet were scarred similar to Victoria. The cold metal on his soft feet gave him a sweet relief. He, like everyone else in the room, had no guild mark. Baron said nothing because he had nothing to say.

"Relax Marin," calmly said Ganiel. His hand slipped over her shoulder and rubbed gently. "We are all on the same team. Granted, some of us here." His glance obviously shifted to Baron and Victoria. "Are being paid handsomely to be here by Black Empire. We all have the same goals, we had the same surgery enhancement. We are a team, of sorts." Ganiel chuckled to himself quietly. Marin just smiled as she stared at Ganiel for a longer moment.

"Don't expect us to join your summer cookouts after this is over," quietly said Baron with a deep, roaring voice. "We are a team in the sense we have the same goals, because achieving these goals gets us money. And more importantly keeps the Black Empire happy. And when we make them happy, they don't murder us. You're crazy, you're both insane. So don't expect a birthday card after this is over." Baron never once looked over at Ganiel or Marin, his eyes stayed down at the yo-yo that was still swinging. Victoria just nodded along with Baron's words with a big smile etched across her face.

The speedy train was its way to Margaret Town. It was a typical passenger train. Each car had passengers but the course the train was taking wasn't to very popular cities so the train, even though it was small, it was not full. Fairy tail had a cart to themselves. They all shared the back corner, with small backpacks up in the storage over their heads. They sat with only clothes on, and Glail had his knives and medallion. Reyes and Freya were sitting on one, cushy red bench facing the other three. Danna sat in the middle of the two boys. Glail was pressed against the corner, looking out the window in wonder of the passing river. Danna was watching Glail with equal admiration and Freya was fast sleep. Her hair was flipped over her nose, muffling her snoring. No one had made conversation in a while.

"Say Reyes," casually said Taft. Reyes sighed as her head shifted towards the cheerful looking Taft.

"Say something stupid and I'll punch you," Reyes growled with her eyes narrowed.

"I won't I won't," forcibly laughed Taft. "I was just wondering, something you mentioned before. You said you killed every single ankheiser. I was just curious as too why. I only heard rumors and stories, not sure what is true about the ankheiser." Taft spoke with honest curiousity. Reyes sighed again as she turned her head away from the joyous Taft.

"One of them killed my whole village. So I got my revenge," sternly said Reyes, staring out the window herself. Taft could feel the angry aura floating off Reyes and he just nodded, pushing his lips shut. Glail and Danna clearly heard this conversation but they both stayed quiet, sensing the mood. In the clear window Reyes started to see a vision, her memories were projecting themselves in front of her eyes only. The vision was of herself, as a six year old girl. She had both eyes, they were shining brightly and she had the most carefree, happy smile. Little Reyes was in a small cabin, sitting on a big chair, her head barely peaking over the kitchen table. She was alone at the table, swirling a golden, glowing key of pure magic around in front of her. This key and the following dance was spreading open a purple and black swishing portal, just the size of her hand. Behind her were her parents. Her mother was scrubbing some dishes in the sink while her father was chopping up some vegetables on the counter.

"Mommy look I discovered a new spell," energetically shouted little Reyes as the portal began to grow.

"Be careful with magic sweetie," mentioned her mother gently.

"And what did we say about magic at the table?" scolded her father. Little Reyes frowned dramatically as she spun her neck around to face her parent's backs. The portal began to grow.

"I'm sowwy daddy!" cutely apologized Little Reyes. The key in her hand evaporated into golden dust but the portal remained, still growing. An uneasy magic seeped out of the portal. This feeling got her parents to turn around as soon as they felt it, just in time to see a green-brown rotting hand reach out of the portal. Reyes could hear the screams from her memories like it was happening right now. The train came to slow, natural stop but the stop got her memory movie to stop playing as she focused in on the mission.

"Alright we are here, let's go," ordered Reyes loudly. She was already to her feet, giving Freya a heavy shove, jolting the woman awake. Taft was up as well, sliding out of the bench to make room for the others to get out.

"Are we walk-" wondered Danna.

"Nope, there is a magical car waiting for us. One of Lamia Scale's mages offered to drive us so none of us use magic driving. Let's go let's go. Hostages are awaiting, needing saving."


	10. Ganiel's Tower Arc: Fairy Tail Invades

Ganiel's Tower was invisible from the outside of the forest. The big, green trees were just as tall, some taller, than the metal tower. Once someone got into the forest, they had to be close to the tower to see it through all the trees. The outside was metal slabs strewed together with shoddy patchwork. It was lopsided and the middle was the thickest point, but it stayed together. While the inside was all silver and gray, the outside had a few rusty, brown slabs. The top didn't look like a weapon, it just came to a thin point and the tower ended. The magical jeep stopped a few hundred feet short of the tower, making the mages walk on foot. Despite Lamia Scale saying they didn't face any traps, Reyes and Glail kept their eyes peeled, and walked cautiously. Freya walked in front of the group, just a step ahead of Reyes. There didn't look to be any traps around, but there were little cameras hanging out on some branches. Glail and Reyes were always the ones to spot these cameras, sending a stream of flames or a little, white key to strike and destroy the cameras. Once they got fifty feet from the tower, the branches cleared up and the got a good look at the entrance. There was a darker, steel door which was on hinges. It fit perfectly into the tower, but it was a rough, square shape. Reyes snapped her hand forward to snag Freya by the shoulder, stopping her in her tracks. Freya didn't fight it, she just stood still and waited for Reyes's order.

"I don't trust this no traps deal. At least not after they were attacked once," explained Reyes in a serious tone. The group listened intently, all coming to a stop. "Let's charge in without touching the ground. Danna, copy Glail's magic and launch me on the roof. I'll go in from the top. Then you guys launch Freya and Taft through the door, then follow in yourself. Freya and Glail get to the basement and get the hostages out. Make sure the path is clear. Taft and Danna, you shimmy your way up to meet me. Got it?"

"But that tower is so tall," whined Danna, throwing her head back. Her words just got a sharp glare from Reyes. "Copy Binds," sighed Danna. Her hand stretched over in front of her, wrapping around Glail's thick wrist. White bands, containing magical symbols appeared on both hers and Glail's skin on their wrists.

"Let's put our hands under her feet and launch her that way, up and over. Remember white flames won't hurt someone you view as an ally. So you don't have to hold back," instructed Glail. Danna nodded as she strutted forward to line up behind Reyes. Freya slide to her side to get clear of this launching party, while staring at the tower, her eyes lost in thought. Taft was staring at the tower, excitement shining over his eyes and his body bouncing around energetically.

Over in the tower, four of the members were looking at a screen shooting up from a lacrima sitting on the metal table on the second floor. Victoria was crawling towards the stairway slowly, her eyes were still locked on the video. The video showed a static video feed of the back of the Fairy Tail rescue team. They all saw Reyes being lifted above Glail and Danna's shoulders, with white flames shooting out both of their elbows.

"We should go out there, ambush them, strike them before they threaten the tower!" argued Victoria, loudly, in a whiny voice. Marin shot an angry glare over at Vicky while Baron and Ganiel just studied the screen.

"No need. Marin has a protective barrier around the tower. The weapon will be ready shortly. The barrier will give us enough time. It is time for us to put the finishing touches on our plan. Victoria get going to see if the Doc needs any help with his end. Marin, let's go up to the canon. And Baron, you just, stay here. If we get any guests, greet them," instructed Ganiel. Stress or worry didn't seep into his voice, only confidence echoed out. He bounced with long strides towards the stairwell opposite of Vicky. Marin was right behind him, so close her nose was almost in his hair. Vicki didn't move, just stood there with a hesitant mug on her face.

"Go!" roared Baron. The big man kept his eyes on the blurry screen while shifting his body over so he stood directly in front of the door, which stayed in tact. Victoria listened to the words of Baron, regrettably shuffling down the stairs while letting out a long, loud sigh. Everyone could hear it but no way paid no mind, Ganiel was already trotting up the stairs.

Back outside, Reyes was on all fours, staying put near the top of the tower. She was on a slant but her strong body kept her in place. Taft was already in place, having his feet on his ally's hands. His fingers were wrapped around a shoulder of Glail and Danna while his body was leaned far forward, with a devilish smirk on his face.

"Get ready," whispered Glail as white flames leaked out of his elbow. Danna followed suit a second later, keeping her eyes on all of Glail's actions to imitate him.

"Wait!" shouted Reyes formidably. Instantly everyone halted, the flames flickered out of Glail's elbow before dying out. Taft's excitement faded into a frown. "There is a barrier on this tower, let me disarm it."

"Fine," groaned Taft, trying to pump himself up again. The other just waited patiently, Freya started humming a tune to herself.

Back in the tower, their video feed had no sound nor did the video stretch up to the tower. This feed came from the only camera left, Reyes destroyed the one that looked at the tower. Baron knew Reyes was up there but he couldn't see what she was doing.

Reyes simply had her palms extended on the metal, with a bright, white key of energy stuck into her right hand, turning itself from side to side like it was trying to find the grooves of a lock. It only took Reyes three seconds of shuffling the key around before the key shattered into dust and fluttered away.

"It is good, go!" Reyes declared. She didn't even bother looking down at her comrades, her attention stayed at the tip of the tower as she jammed keys into it.

"Dust Devil's!" shouted Taft as he flew through the air, a few feet above the grass. White fire trailed weakly off his shoes, but nothing was burnt. Despite their not being any dust around, dust spun around both of his fists which were cocked back by his shoulders. His solid head came just an inch of the metal door, but his dust covered fists slammed into the door fist. His momentum and punching power snapped the door right off the hinges, and Taft followed the door in. "Flashy Entrance!" The dust he had built up was exhaled out, creating two streams of dust that propelled the door forward. Once Taft got inside his heels slipped down on the ground and began to put brakes on his momentum. The door flew at high speeds but it didn't go far before being flung ninety degrees to the right with a fist sized dent in it. The jagged door just hit the wall, creating a banging sound that echoed around. The wall was not dented nor did the tower even shake a bit. About twenty feet in, standing tall, with his brows bent in frustration, was Baron. Now that he was actually angry, these brats were getting in the way of Baron getting a sweet paycheck, Baron's naturally angry looking face was even scarier. He was still wearing bright blue pajamas, but that didn't stop Taft from being intimidated. Taft didn't even see the clothes, all he saw was the devilish glare of Baron. He fought through this fear, dust spinning around his feet as he continued to skid towards Baron. In Baron's right hand, the hand that didn't punch the door, was a magical, shining chain. This hand was swung, crossing over Baron's body. sending the silver chain flicking towards Taft. At the end of the chain was a giant sphere, that looked like magical energy and steel all at once. The chain was the perfect length to smack into Taft's side with this four foot wide ball. Despite the size it flew quickly, and Baron showed no strain wielding it.

"Side Swipe!" proudly barked Baron as the flail was a few inches away from Taft. Even though Taft was still sliding forward the mace was on track to smack him. His eyes showed fear as did his open mouth, but his hand stayed steady as it reached for the ball with dust leaking from his fingers.

"Dust Devil's Jet Boost!" Dust sprayed frantically off Taft's hand in attempt to push him back. His body did soar off to the left but he could not outspeed the flying flail. He was clipped at the side, which curved around the flail, keeping Taft pressed to the ball as he was carried with it to the next wall. Baron snapped back his wrist, pulling the flail back like a dog on a leash, keeping it from slamming into the wall. Taft's momentum continued, he was pried off the ball. It was the solid wall that stopped Taft's momentum, his right shoulder slamming first. Taft was just a few feet behind one of the stairwells. He cringed massively, biting his lip and causing it to bleed in the process. First his left side hurt from the flail, now his right side stung from the wall. The pain continued to rage through his body as he slid the two feet down to the ground, but Taft stayed on his feet. Baron had switched targets, flicking his flail back in front of the door to slam into the oncoming Freya who was flying with white fire trailing from her. Freya gritted her teeth as she saw this happening but there was nothing she could do. Her arms tucked into her body and her muscles tensed to brace for the blow. The giant ball changed course, flying right in front of Freya's, scrapping her nose. Tan dust streamed against the ball to Freya's right, where Taft was. The brunette mage puffed frustratedly, with his eyebrows narrowed and his shoulders dipping low after every breath. "Get going Freya. I'll keep this guy occupied. My name is Taft. And I'm your opponent!"

From up on the top floor Reyes was standing next to cylinder cannon barrel, that stretched all the way to the roof from the floor. Directly next to the canon, carving into the canon slightly, was a glass looking orb that was as big as a person. In the middle of the orb was much smaller orb, the size of an apple, that was full of orange energy. This orange energy was slowly leaking out of the small orb, and sloshing around the bigger orb, which had much lighter gravity. Reyes stood a few feet back from this weapon, standing completely straight up with one hand plopped to her side and the other hand held up in front of her chest. A few inches in front of her body, in random patterns, glowing white keys, an inch long each, were appearing. As soon as they materialized they were shot straight forward. Some stabbed into the canon while some stabbed into the big orb. They made contact and then dissolved away into dust. None of the keys were cracking, denting or doing any damage like they were supposed to. Reyes bit on her bottom lip while she kept this assault up, ideas swirling through her mind.

"It won't work," laughed Ganiel, his head appearing up from the stairwell. The canon was in the center of the room, taking up most of the room. Ganiel peaked up from the right side and Marin was right behind him. "It is made up of a metal with an extreme magic resistance. Even someone of your power won't be able to damage it, not before it launches at least. Killing millions. Ah, sweet, beautiful death." A legitimate, relaxed smile grew on Ganiel's lips as a vision of the aftermath filled into his head. He was standing on the metal floor now, receiving a violent glare from Reyes. Marin just finished climbing up and grew a smile that matched Ganiel's. "Marin my dear. Please entertain our guest so I can put the final touches on our baby."

"With pleasure dear," happily replied Marin, with her smile turning devilish. A yellow-green, similar to her hair, aura spread over her clinched fists and continued to cover her entire body. The aura moved where she moved, just like a second skin. Ganiel took long, bouncy strides to the side, going around Reyes to get to the orb. Marin cut in diagonally, on a path to smash Reyes, her right fist was cocked back behind her shoulder. Marin kept her devilish smile, showing her front teeth, including sharp canines. Her magical aura stayed put after it covered her entire body. It didn't change her speed or anything about her that Reyes could tell. Reyes stayed put, her body still facing the canon but her neck was strung over to look at Marin. Anger and frustration rolled in Reyes eyes. It was a scary look that sank into Marin's sole, but she kept her charge. Reyes's right hand was hanging out below her waste now, her fingers wiggling and a white ball swishing around in her hands. "Armored Girl Rocket!" Marin leapt the last few feet and exploded her fist forward with good speed to slam into Reyes's face. Reyes didn't look the least bit worried, keeping her glare up and stepping back to easily avoid the punch that didn't even scrap her nose. Marin's momentum carried forward and Reyes's stuck her palm with the white energy right into Marin's side. While Marin was still in front of Reyes, the white ball that was spinning manifested into three keys that were in a circular pattern, their tips sticking outward. These keys were two feet long, and they were in a spiral shape all across. Marin was caught up in the spinning, her body rotated around with the keys and because she was in the air she couldn't touch the ground to stop her spinning.

"If I can't use magic, I'll find other means to break these canons!" shouted Reyes. Her hand trembled, veins were popping as she jammed her hand forward and up, moving Marin with her keys. Ganiel's face grew blank as he realized what was happening. He wanted to get angry but he didn't have time to as Marin as sent flying up at the canon's barrel. "Propeller Keys!" Marin was sent spinning forward like a frisbee, slamming her aura covered body into the canon. The force wasn't enough to destroy the barrel, especially with Marin's small weight, but there was a good sized dent left in the middle of the tall canon. Marin stayed in the dent, clinging onto the crater she formed so she didn't fall. Her mood already turned from cocky to sourly pissed off. Reyes turned more towards Ganiel but kept her eyes on Marin with the same white energy swirling in her right hand. "You'll be the cause of your baby's destruction."

"Wild Swipe!" exclaimed Baron. He was standing the center of the room, flailing his arm all around his body like it was elastic. This caused his flail to swing all around as well. His speed was impressive, making his arm and the flail a blur. Despite the wild pattern of the swing his flail never touched the walls, floor or roof. Baron's targets were Glail and Danna who were gliding into the doorway with white flames spitting from their feet and hands. Taft was still in the room, being sent again the right wall by a mighty flail swing. He wanted to try to get to Baron to hit him to halt the attack but he couldn't get more than a few feet forward before being hit by the giant flail. A frustrated grimace was plastered on Taft's face. Sweat already sprinkled across his body, pasting his bangs to his head. Freya was nowhere to be seen, having scaled down the stairs already. Glail was in front of Danna, just a few feet from gliding into the tower. He could see parts of the blurry flail but he couldn't cast enough spell because he had to fly first. A grimace covered his face as his body tightened, preparing for an impact.

"How many times do I have to say it!" screamed Taft angrily, taking a fierce stomp forward. "I'm your opponent!" Baron had no words, his determined eyes were locked on Glail who slipped right into the tower. Glail slid down to his feet and his momentum slipped him forward. His hands were tense and his eyes were flipping around the room to look for an oncoming attack. But nothing came. Surprise lit up Baron and Glail's eyes as their attention was drawn to where Taft was standing. The giant flail ball was taller than Taft was and Taft wasn't built that muscular. But the flail was stuck, with Taft's arms, flexing as much as they could, dug into the sides of the ball, with the front jammed into Taft's stomach and face. Where his hands were, there were little craters where the flail was starting to turn to dust, which created handles to held Taft grip. This wasn't a painless move, he had to take the ball head on, bruising was already forming in black on his arms. But Taft held his ground. Glail didn't hesistate, he took the opening and darted towards the left downstairs.

"Thanks," muttered Glail. His words were heard, pushing a proud smile up on Taft's face. Danna was gliding in and Baron put his other hand on the chain before ripping his weapon back, out of Taft's hands.

"Don't hesitate, climb the stairs, I got this," ordered Taft firmly as Danna slipped into the tower. Baron stayed silent as he swung both his hands over his hand, bringing the flail forward, aimed perfectly at where Danna was moving. "God, damnit," huffed Taft. Danna followed the orders and took large strides to the right, though she wasn't as fast as Glail. Baron's giant flail spiraled but headed straight in front of Danna, just to the side of Taft.

"Exact Swipe!"

"I said, I'm your opponent," muttered Taft frustratedly. "Dust Devil's Crumble!" Taft slammed his two fists together in front of his chest which rumbled the dust that had indented Baron's flail. Instantly the flail crumbled into brown dust that just fell on the floor and dispersed around the room. Danna sighed relief as she just ran across the sand and the weapon's chain didn't even reach her. She started to ascend the spiraling stairs. Danna was still in Baron's sight, she had the hundred foot climb, but Baron shifted his angry eyes to Taft, who was standing tall and proud. Looking Taft right in the eyes, Baron dropped his magical chain, which hit the ground and shattered into nothing. Still looking Taft dead in the eyes, Baron clapped, and another magical chain, with a six foot ball attached at the end, appeared in his hands, with the ball on the ground. This weapon was in perfect shape, no dust dents on the flail. Taft grinned eagerly as he rubbed his hands together. "Finally you're going to fight me."


	11. Ganiel's Tower Arc: The Zombie

The basement was similar to the rest of the tower, except it was darker. There were less magical lights on the ceiling to light the way. It started out as a rectangle style room, that was also a bit colder, but there was a hallway at the end of the room, opposite of the staircase wall. Freya had already finished coming down the stairs, she moved slowly to be cautious and more so to not trip. Possibly the biggest difference to the basement was a sound, it was a slow, deep drumming sound, but it was quiet. Every few seconds there was a bum, it was the same sound, following the same pattern. It didn't take Freya long to see the sound was coming from a person, about halfway into the long room. Freya could yet see the details of the girl, but it was the pink haired Vicki. She had her little drum out, held in one hand in front of her body. Her drumstick necklace was ripped off and held in her frail hand, beating against the tight drum.

"I don't supposed you'd just let me walk on by, rescue the hostages, no conflict," asked Freya with a shaky voice. Victoria stayed standing still, but continued to drum. Quick footsteps were hustling down the stairs.

"Wow it is dark," muttered Glail. His words went out before Freya could check who it was and she recognized his voice instantly. A white flame lit up in the background, further showing who it was.

"No. As much as I dislike Ganiel and how is going about things. I'm getting paid to see his actions through. So I'd love to let you pass so Ganiel fails and to see his face when he fails. But then I wouldn't get pai-"

"We could pay you. Fairy Tail is not a poor guild," hastily offered Freya. Glail just shrugged, keeping his mouth shut as he trotted down the stairs.

"I wasn't done. Let a girl finish," growled Vicki. "I wouldn't get paid, which fine, you guys could pay me just as much money probably. But that isn't the only reason. I was hired by Black Empire, to be the body guard, to help ensure this weapon gets launched. So if this weapon doesn't get launched, I get blamed. And I don't want to have Black Empire against me, even if I have Fairy Tail with me."

"So, you'd rather be against Fairy Tail than Black Empire?" wondered Glail, only a slight annoyance in his voice. He came down on the ground floor, his feet clanking against the solid metal. He had one hand on the medallion around his neck and the other hand was extended straight forward. He stood off a few feet to the side of Freya.

"Well duh," answered Vicki with no hesitation.

"Well I'll grant your wish," loudly informed Glail, with his medal gleaming with a golden glow. "Medallion Mode." The medal just glowed off itself, not spreading its glow to Glail body but the white flames burned off both his hands more fiercely than ever. His fists were both out in front of his body now, with one above the other. The flames that burned off his skin formed a jaw with white flames for teeth, that was snapping itself before being launched right at Vicki. "White Lotus Dragon Gun!"

"Wait no!" screamed Freya but it was too late. The attack was already launched at Vicki, tearing through the air at massive speeds. Vicki still had time to dodge it, or attempt to dodge it, but she stayed still. She tapped the drumstick repeatedly against the drum, creating a quieter, quicker beat. But right as the flames reached her she pounded the drumstick down, still not making a very loud sound but the flames started to peel backwards, no fire reaching Vicki.

"Counter Sound!" happily chanted Vicki, bouncing her head around as she continued to beat on the drum, though it didn't affect the spell. After being peeled backwards the white flames swirled around to yet again for a jaw of snapping white flames, that this time was headed at Glail with almost double the speed. Glail had no chance to dodge and the attack was cackling more fiercely than when he casted it. Glail's medallion was still glowing gold, affecting his magic power which made the spell hurt even more as it engulfed him. The jaw closed shut and just ran through Glail's body. His scream faded away quickly as the consciousness was drained from Glail's body instantly and his knocked out body hit the floor.

"Gah idiot, using your strongest attack against mages who are better against strong opponents. I thought you were smart Glail," disappointedly muttered Freya. Vicki just had her head thrown back, laughing childishly. She threw up an energetic fist into the air.

"I have no problem taking on Fairy Tail, especially with this new power that was given to me by Black Empire," laughed Vicki. When her head lowered back down, she no longer saw Freya as a threat, not after how easily Glail was defeated. Freya was just looked at like an ant now. There was nothing different about Vicki's body or any different look to her spell. The Ankheiser's ability to do more damage to stronger mages was just a part of her body now, it happened naturally.

"I'm not going boast around about my strength or your weakness. And I don't really have any questions, that's not my mission. My mission is to save those hostages and you're in my way. So let's just skip the talking and get to the fighting," sternly said Freya, stretching her hands in the air.

"Yeah sure. I'll take out two fairies and then brag to Baron that I defeated more Fairies than him, well hopefully more fairies than him," rambled Vicki. Freya was already running forward. She had no spell prepared but she ran in confidently, with long strides. "Death Sound!" Vicki pounded on her drum, hard and fast. Shockwaves pierced the air, just a horizontal blade of air sliced right at Freya, about a foot long. Every time Vicki pounded her drum another blade was summoned. Freya wasn't the fastest Fairy Tail mage nor did she have any magic to propel herself. So the barrage of sonic waves slammed into Freya. Into her chest mostly, but a few spare notes clipped her arms and legs. The very last one before Vicki took a break, huffing, was a slicing note that went right through Freya's neck. After these notes passed Freya's body they hit the wall and dispersed, not causing any damage to the wall. But they also didn't cause any damage to Freya's body, not cutting, not bruising. They looked like they stung a little, evident by Freya cringing every time, but that it. Victoria had enough light to see her spells not doing the damage she intended, which made her grow increasingly frustrated. Her hand trembled, aching for more drumming but she needed a break, already pumping sweat from her forehead, clinging onto her pink bangs. Freya couldn't move during the assault due the violent sound and it took all her energy to hold her ground. But she instantly started running again. This made Vicki's eyebrow twitch in frustration. But she kept her mouth shut, she was a lady and a strong mage, she didn't need to have an outburst, she would still win. Freya still had a few seconds to get to Vicki so Vicki drew out a more powerful spell, sliding her drumstick around the metal on the outside of her drum. This action made her drumstick surge with an orange glow which she then pounded into her drum. Vicki herself was blown back a few feet, her heels skidding against the metal. Another violent sound came out of the drum, paralyzing Freya's body because of the crushing volume. What followed was a shockwave, glowing orange. This shockwave was round, the size of the drum and it powered straight at Freya. Freya bent her knees and stayed still as the shockwave charged through her chest. No blood was drawn, Freya didn't even cough afterwords. She seemed fine. Once again Freya started to charge forward after the attack ended, running just fine, only a light sting making her tighten her jaw. Vicki's lips jammed together angrily as he eyebrow flared up again, steam practically coming off her head. "I wouldn't care if you were dodging or blocking my attacks. But you're taking them head on, how aren't you dead?!" pouted Vicki.

"Because I can't die. I was given the nickname The Zombie for a reason," cooly said Freya as she ran up into Vicky's face. Freya planted her right foot down firmly as he left foot flipped up like a switch, planting right into Vicki's chin. The little Vicki was lifted off the ground, red forming under her chin and pain welling all throughout her head. Vicki fell a few feet down the ground, landing right on her feet but instantly collapsed down to her butt, her legs were shaking as the pain from the kick spread to her whole body.

"You're not that muscular. And you didn't use a spell, how they hell did that hurt so much!" whined Vicki. Frustration and confusion wanted to turn to tears. Vicki kept ahold of her drum and stick. Her legs still weren't ready to lift her body up so she slid her drum over her lap and got ready to play, hastily because Freya was charging in again.

"I did use a spell. I healed my muscles to their peak stage of performance, drawing out the most power possible. But I don't like to brag." Vicki's face just furrowed in frustration as she slammed down on her drum.

"Death Note!" Another horizontal shockwave was summoned, gliding a foot above the ground and slicing for Freya's legs. Like before the spell ran through her legs, creating a loud sound that made Freya's ears dumb but the shockwave itself didn't draw any blood. Freya swept her leg across Vicki's body, kicking the drum right out of Vicki's grip and sending it bouncing along the room. Freya jammed her long leg into Vicki's neck, pushing the little girl back and against the ground. With a powerful push Vicki's airlines were being shut off and she lacked the physical power to push Freya off. And she lacked the power to summon her magic without her drum. Freya didn't quit, she continued to push down while looking down at the younger girl.

"Since you were really confused and frustrated. I guess I'll explain it to you. My magic is healing magic, but my body is always healing itself, always. I can't die and I am healed immediately after. My cuts are sealed before my skin is even cut, my bruises are healed before my skin even turns green. I have mediocre offensive ability but amazing defensive ability. And no spells that can actually be countered, I was the perfect opponent for you. Sorry." Freya said that last word smugly and it was the last word Vicki heard before she faded into unconsciousness.

"My job has been completed, looks like I can have some fun," slowly spoke the creepy voice of a man who walked around the corner of the hallway. He witnessed the last exchange between Freya and Vicki. Freya was panting a little but she looked in pretty good shape. Glail was still laying on his back, completely unconscious. The newcomer was Doctor Rah Terrance. But none of his allies actually could remember his name, even Baron and Vicki, who had worked with him before. Everyone just called him Doc. "I was busy when you guys were invading so I actually don't know much of what is going on. Could you be a dear and tell me who you are and what guild?" The Doc continued to talk slowly as he walked just as slowly forward.

"My name is Freya and I am from Fairy Tail," loudly announced Freya, standing up straight. Her words didn't shock Doc, he just nodded along.

"Ah Fairy Tail. That makes sense. Well looks like you were able to defeat Vicki, which is more than Lamia Scale could do. And it only took two of you, and you seem in fairly good shape. Vicki took on like four scale mages. I don't keep up much with the light guilds anymore. But I know your guild name is a powerful name. And even if it wasn't, Vicki is defeated in front of my eyes. So that is power right there. Shall we begin our fight?" Freya stayed put, about halfway across the long room. She stared down Doc who was staring back. Freya just shrugged and his words and shook her head to the side.

"I was really hoping we wouldn't fight. You'd just let me rescue the hostages and leave. Is that an option?" cutely wondered Freya, puffing out her cheeks. Doc smiled lightly, like an old man smiles at a child and let out a little laugh. Doc stood at five foot five if he stood up straight, he was hunched over at the moment, which he usually was. Doc walked and talked like an old man, but he was only thirty five years old. He did have fading gray hair, but his face, especially his energetic, green eyes, showed his true age. His hair was also rather thick, and long, being tied back in a tight ponytail. Doc was wearing a white lab coat, that fell down to his ankles. It was opened, showing a tight blank tank top and matching skinny black pants. His shoes were heavy, brown boots that were laced up to his shins. There were no scars on his feet or was there a guild mark anywhere on his body.

"No, that is not an option. You see, I helped, at least fifty percent. Create this entire weapon, well the idea of the weapon at least. I didn't forge the actual metal. This is my experiment that I would very much like to see through. More than once actually, and so these hostages are important. Two S class mages alone are an amazing amount of fuel for my baby. But I'll give you a second. And then I will charge." Doc nodded again with his smile. There was no fear in this man, despite seeing his ally knocked out with his own eyes. Doc wasn't bursting with excitement for a battle, but he did want it. He kept his excitement inside his body. "I ought to be careful. Vicki was no slouch. Dash Drive!" Before Freya could even blink, she was on her back with a stinging sensation on her face. Rolling her eyes back she could see Doc's back and he was just starting to turn around. Freya groaned as she pushed off her palms to pop back to feet. Before she could get situated on her feet she was sent flopping back forward, with a stinging sensation on the back of her head. She saw the trail of a white coat and got a better glimpse that it was Doc running past her as he started to slow down so he didn't hit the wall. Freya couldn't stop her momentum, though she was able to place to hands in front of her chest to catch herself. Doc stayed emotionless, but he hummed a drab tune to himself as he trotted to turn around, getting ready to dart again.


	12. Ganiel's Tower Arc: Hangman

"You're resilient," complimented Doc honestly. He flipped open his jacket while now facing Freya. The woman was pushing up to her feet again with shaky hands. From under his jacket Doc pulled out a wire rope, a bunch of little wires twisted together to create a twenty foot masterpiece that was wrapped up. Doc casually flipped his wrist, which untangled the entire rope. "I don't fight a lot. I create, I experiment. That's my thing. And that is why Black Empire hired me, well they didn't give me a choice. But they wanted my brain talents, not my magical talents. Which is why I also have bodyguards here. But my magic has a niche, it matches up perfectly against certain types of magic. It might not be the strongest, and I might not train a lot. But if my magic matches up favorably, there isn't much my opponent can do. And this looks like the case. You can take my attacks like a champion. But you can not fire back anything, unless you are hiding something up your sleeve. It looks like you have some kind of defensive magic, my punches aren't doing what they should. But I wonder what your defensive magic isn't capable of." Doc stayed still as he rambled, and Freya did the same. She noticed the rope but she was more focused on trying to figure out how to attack him. She was looking for some kind of key, some kind of tell to his attacks. She wasn't even sure what side he attacked on. "Dash Drive: Hangman!" Like before Doc charged forward, Freya was sure of that, he was running forward, just at immense speeds. Freya did the only thing she could, she swung blindly, firing a right punch forward. Before her punch got anywhere Freya was yanked back. This was different than before, she was being pulled back. And the stinging pain was around her neck. Freya's body slowed down as Doc had to slow down to turn around before hitting the wall. It was at this moment she realized what had happened, Doc's wire rope was around her neck, dragging her on her back. The two ends of the rope were held tightly in Doc's hands. He turned the corner much faster than before, zooming forward again before Freya had anytime to wiggle free. It hurt her head, neck and back but that wasn't Doc's intention. Her airwave was being cut off, she couldn't get any oxygen when Doc darted down the halls. While the rope loosened up when Doc turned the corner, it was barely enough. Freya knew her consciousness was fading and Doc didn't show any signs of slowing down. He kept this up, running laps around the rectangle room, not going down the hallway he came from. Freya was being moved to fast to wiggle free from the rope and she had nothing to grab onto to stop her body from being pulled. And she had no ranged spell that would get to Doc. Freya was beat.

"Angel's Revive," she said in her head, because she had no oxygen to speak. A spell was cast, though nothing visual happened, the consciousness just drained from Freya's body. When Doc turned the next corner, he glanced back to see Freya, her head flopped sideways, looking unconscious. But Doc shrugged, not taking any gambles in case it was an act, he kept running. He was currently running towards Glail, who was still flat on his back. Glail hadn't moved the entire time Doc had been there, so Doc had ruled out Glail as a threat. But the boy magically had energy rush into his body, springing his eyes awake. All of Freya's leftover magical power was pushed into Glail. Glail had no idea what happened, he laid there for a second. His medal was still on his neck but it was no longer glowing. He could see and hear Doc running around, dragging Freya. Due to the darkness and Doc ruling Glail out, Doc never noticed Glail was awake. The black haired boy could see the extreme speeds that Doc was running at, and he could see his ally looking unconscious. Once he had adjusted to being conscious again, it was clear what he needed to do, and fast, even if he didn't know how he was back awake, with so much magical power too. But his father always said don't question a good thing. Yet again Doc was heading back Glail's way. He would stop before he got to Glail, since Glail was by the stairs. When he turned around, his back was right there, he moved quick still, but not quick enough that he couldn't get hit when turning corners. Slowly and quietly Glail slipped one knife into his left hand, while faint white flames lingered off his right hand. He waited until Doc was in place, turning the corner in front of him, hoping that Freya was still alive. When Doc's back was moving slow, exposed, Glail sent his knife spiraling right at Doc's left shoulder blade. At the same time he smacked his hand against the metal floor, sending out a wave of fire that covered the back third of the room, including Freya and Doc.

"White Lotus Steam Spring!" quietly chanted Glail before flipping up to his feet, bouncing with energy. The attack was rather weak but it stung Doc's body and covered up the pain of the knife. Glail wasn't worried that Freya was mixed into the spell because white fire didn't hurt allies. Doc turned around with surprise raising up his eyes.

"Oh you're awake," Doc groaned. He flicked his wrist speedily, pulled the rope off Freya's neck, leaving a mark that wasn't immediately healed up. Doc was only about five feet from Glail and he was back pedaling slowly to get separation. Glail noticed this and he was pressing forward. "I was hoping that Vicki killed you, what is she good for. I really don't like doing two fights you see. I'm not a fighter, one is enough for me. If you want a fight though, Baron should be upstairs, he will give you a good battle." Fear chattered in Doc's voice, which was elevated by the fierce, burning glare in Glail's eyes. Doc hated fighting ranged fighters.

"I'm here for the hostages. And now I have to prove myself, after loosing that first battle because of my foolishness. I won't make that same mistake again. I forgot about your stupid ankheiser dna," growled Glail. Doc chuckled to himself before he tightened his grip around his rope and started to lean forward.

"Dash Drive: Hangman!" Doc darted forward, despite having a small gap Doc almost got up to speed. He got his metal rope wrapped around Glail's neck and got behind him. But Doc had nowhere to run, he turned the corner as fast as he could. Glail was being pulled back, but he was still on his feet, just had to back pedal hastily. A burst of white flames came out of Glail's palms before Doc could turn the corner. Glail was sent flying into Doc, closing the small gap, slamming their backs together. Glail's back slammed into the knife handle, shoving his knife firmly into Doc's back, causing him to shriek. This shove also shoved Doc into the metal wall, though it wasn't a strong push. Glail kept pushing flames out of both hands, letting his body fly into Doc's. He tried to keep the doctor pinned against the wall but his force wasn't enough. Doc was facing straight enough and he darted down the long hall, pulling Glail behind him by the neck. Before Doc could even reach the other side of the room he was no longer pulling anyone in his rope. He could feel this missing weight and glanced back, expecting to see Glail laying in the middle of the room. But there was no one there, even with the limited light Doc should've saw someone, but he didn't. White smoke was trailing off the knife in Doc's back. There was no smell or feel to the smoke. By the time it drifted in Doc's line of sight an entire man had formed out of the smoke. Glail was behind Doc now, with his legs wrapped around Doc's waste. His legs were tight because they were holding up his entire body. Glail's fists were raised over his head, slamming down on Doc's back.

"White Lotus Summer Volcano!" Glail didn't activate his medallion, just did a normal spell. The Summer Volcano was usually summoned by Glail hitting the ground. But this time the white tower of flame welled in the front of Doc's bent over chest. The flames erupted backwards, towards Glail, engulfing himself in the cylinder tower that shot up fifteen feet. Instead of a trail over towers like Summer Volcano usually was, only one tower was needed since the opponent was struck. Glail's weight plus the force of the attack made Doc fall over forward, under his collapsed feet. His knees slammed against the metal first and he was showing no signs of trying to run away, because he couldn't at the moment. Since Glail's hands were on Doc's back, his left hand slid over the knife that was still deeply in Doc's back. "White Lotus Crimson Blade!" Glail yanked his knife out, with white flames extended off the short knife to make a long katana. Glail's free hand shoved Doc's back further into the ground to help pull out the knife. The blade of flames charred the inside of Doc's shoulder and the pain spread around. White flames sparked off Glail's hand that was in Doc's shoulder, preparing another spell as Glail stayed pinned on Doc, sitting on his back. But the white flames disappeared, Doc's eyes were rolled back into his head, he was knocked out. "Whew I got one," quietly cheered Glail, flicking the sweat off his forehead with his sharp knife. Glail kept shifting his eyes to the corridor and the stairwell as he trotted towards the knocked out Freya, who was still in the same state.


	13. Ganiel's Tower Arc: Taft vs Baron

Danna scurried up into the third floor, the biggest of all the floors. The round room had four beds against the wall, spread evenly apart. Around these beds were several bags of clothes and personal items. The beds were generic, rectangle shaped with thin blankets and a few pillows. Except one bed, Baron's bed, had fluffy, bright orange blankets and a little one foot long teddy bear at the end of the bed, moved to sit upright. One of the beds had faded yellow curtain around the space around the bed. All of the bags, everything was inside this curtain which was slid shut at the moment. This was Ganiel and Marin's bed, the curtain was her idea. She wanted metal walls to divide every room but that was an unnecessary waste of time according to Ganiel. Danna came up through the right side, but it wasn't close to the wall because this room was much wider. The next stairwell going up was in the center of the room, it was the only stairwell going up this time. Danna didn't bother looking around the room, she sprinted towards the stairs with her golden hair bouncing behind her. Even though the fighting above and below her was a hundred feet away and between metal walls she could still hear banging and grunting. Danna tried focusing on these sounds as she ran, hoping she could hear a clue that proved her allies were winning. Danna was shuffling up the stairs, her white copy band had disappeared from her skin.

"Millennium Swipe!" shouted the voice of Baron from down below. Danna didn't actually hear his voice, but what she did hear was the sound of his flail bursting through the metal floor beneath her. It wasn't an instant burst, the metal floor was stretched up first, forming around the ball which now grew to be around twenty feet in length each way. This time the magical ball was spinning, which made the floor twist around the ball before parts of the metal sheet started to tear off and fling around the room. This tears were flung into the wall, jamming and sticking in there. The flail made a hole that was equal to about half the size of the entire floor. The metal tears that were being flung around were flying to the sides, Danna was directly above the ball. But she wasn't free of the spinning ball as it still soared up, eating at the staircase. Danna frantically glanced around the room for some way to escape but if she dropped down to avoid the ball she was in the path of flying sheet metal. So she put her pedal down and scurried up the stairs at max speed, glancing down occasionally, which elevated her fear. The staircase was welded to the top floor, so despite its crazy long length, it stayed put as Danna tried to run up it, still being chased by the creeping giant flail. There was brown dust crawling up through the whole that the flail created but Danna didn't notice, she was preoccupied by her impending death.

"I fucking said!" growled Taft, panting heavily. Dust was littered under his feet, propelling him upwards, moving much faster than the giant flail. Taft was moving in an arc, his feet dangled just above the the flail as his hands smoothly slipped themselves under Danna's back and knees, cradling her against his chest. His momentum pushed her off the staircase but she stayed snug in his arms as they flew towards the flat wall to the left. They were high enough that when they got to the wall they would be free of the shredding metal but Danna didn't make this leap herself because she had no way to stay in the wall. The flail started to fall back down, being pulled down by Baron. Danna and Taft were free of the flail's reach, though the tearing sheet metal would still be a problem, even though the flail was being pulled back down, it wouldn't be pulled out of the way soon enough. Taft slipped the hand he had under her knee forward so his palm hit the oncoming wall. His other hand's knuckles plus his two knees and feet also hit the wall at the same time. Taft pushed all his weight into the wall to slow his slid back down, but he didn't put too much weight in to crush Danna. Baron couldn't see very much of this action, only looking through the whole he created but it didn't give him sight to the entire room. He could see Taft's head sliding down. But his view got worse as his flail came back down to fill the hole. "Dust Devil's Crumble," whispered Taft angrily. A brown circle instantly appeared in the wall, around his palm that pressed against the metal. This circle was about five feet around and the brown was already crumbling, leaving a clean hole. Taft used this whole to slip Danna in, though the metal wall was thin, Danna gripped onto the side of the new hole to position herself firmly enough. Taft could've hung from the hole and waiting for the flail and the flying metal shards to pass, but he didn't. "Stay here," he commanded softly, glancing lovingly in Danna's eyes.

"Sure, be safe," she whispered back.

"Safe isn't Fairy Tail's game. I'm going to be reckless!" roared Taft as he shoved off the wall, with dust trailing under his hands and feet. His feet and shins were covered in dark red blood, his shoes and legs of his pants were almost entirely torn off. His feet had dragged against the flail when he dove to save Danna. He grimaced when he used his feet to help push off from the wall, the pain making him close his eyes for a second. But Taft kept pushing on, having dust propel him about halfway across the room, right above the falling flail. "I fucking said!" he screamed. His body was tilted horizontally so he was facing down at the flail. Taft aimed his arc so that he was now falling downwards at the flail and he was out speeding the giant flail. His right palm was extended out with his fingers flexed like a claw. "I am your opponent. Are you deaf? Dust Devil's Crumble Claw!" Taft's palm smacked down into the flail that was still barely spinning. Still the spin the flail had remaining was enough to break Taft's five fingers loudly, shred up the skin on his hand and bruise his palm, cracking a few bones in the palm itself. But this didn't stop Taft's spell from transferring over. His palm created a hole of brown dust in the dark flail. This hole quickly spread down and outwards as Taft's body was soaring downwards. After the dust was formed, it shattered, creating a rain of dust that followed Taft's dive downwards. Baron could've canceled this flail and summoned another one, it was part of his magic, but destroying the flail was spending more of Taft's magic and hurting him quite a bit. Baron stayed standing on the second floor, with the long, glowing chain in both of his hands. He held a neutral expression still and had no words. He could tell that his flail was being destroyed long before he saw Taft's bleeding hand break through the bottom of the flail. Taft's body flew downwards with a flood of brown dust right behind him. This dust had no offensive properties to it now, it did its job, but it looked really cool falling behind Taft. But Taft wasn't going to waste it. He continued to fall horizontally and tossed back his arms and feet, so they all hung behind his back and were buried in the falling dust. The dust shifted and spun around Taft's limbs, splitting into four groups. This dust created drill like whips around all of Taft's limbs and stuck with his limbs as he snapped his limbs back forward. At this point the long chain of the flail was gone, Baron made it disappear. Two flails appeared now, one in each hand. The chains rested in his hands while the flails were on the ground off to his sides. They didn't stay on the ground long as Baron threw his hands straight up above his shoulders, firing his flails up straight as well. The dust whips around all of Taft's limbs had started to straighten out, each of them still shifting around to try to line up to Baron. "Dust Devil's Violent Spear!"

"Jungle Swipe!" Baron started to shake his arms around like snakes which in turn made the two flails swing around wildly. The wild swings were controlled through, the flails stayed in the same area as the dust spears with the intent to break them. The chain between the flails and Baron's hands kept magically extending. Taft continued to fall down but he had plenty of room between the two clashing spells. Baron's right flail wiggled around one of the dust spear's. Taft figured he was going to try to break the spears by slamming against their sides. But the flails kept wiggling up, dodging around the spears but not slamming into them. Taft jabbed his right arm to the side to make that spear break the flail's chain but Baron's flails were more responsive than the stiff spears and he flicked the chain out of the way. The flail and spears continued past each other, both on course to hit their opponent. Baron started to hop backwards though as soon as the spears got close, knowing it was much harder for Taft to change their course. Taft couldn't really move in the air and flail's slammed into him, one crushing his stomach and the other crushing his chest. This slam made Taft loose control of his spears and the dust fell off his hands like a glove. It didn't matter though, Baron was already clear of the spell and there was no way Taft could've changed it quick enough to hit him. The dust started to fade away into nothing as Taft continued to fall after Baron pulled his flails back. The flails followed Taft down in case he tried another spell to try to catch himself but they didn't strike Taft again, just let him fall. And fall he did. Taft's body, without any dust to catch him or slow his fall, slammed face first into the hard metal floor.

Danna stayed clung onto the hole in the wall , watching the fight with horror shaking in her eyes. The threat of the shredding metal was long gone and Danna pressed her feet against the cold metal wall, ready to jump off and help her friend. But before she could do that there was the sound of thunder from above. She had heard the cackle of electricity before coming from above, but this was the loudest she had heard it. It was fitting because this spell burst part of the above floor. Shards of metal, cackling with yellow electricity poured down, though Danna wasn't directly underneath so it wasn't a threat. The special canon was still in the above floor, as was its power source, which Danna could get a glimpse at now. She wasn't concerned with it though. What she was focusing on was what she could see of Reyes, which was really just her bottom half. Danna was scanning for injuries and for any injuries on the two enemies that were both dancing around Reyes. Reyes was pedaling back, with her legs right against the new hole, one of her heels hanging off it. Reyes glanced back under the hole real quick just to see what she was dealing with. This hole was above the hole that Baron created, so if she fell she had the chance to fall far. Reyes took in the surroundings in less than a second and resumed to look at her opponents. No one looked incredibly hurt, Marin and Reyes were breathing heavily while Ganiel seemed totally fine. And the canon was fine as well, not having another dent since the one Reyes made with Marin's body. Marin charged first at Reyes, with long, quick strides. Though all Danna could see was feet. She was torn between who to help. Most the stairway going up still remained, she could get to either fight. Reyes was stronger but she was fighting two opponents and she had her magic power limited. If her magic power wasn't limited there was no doubt in Danna's mind she would hop down and help Taft but now she was torn. Her eyes stay up on Reyes to see how the last exchange would go. She could see the other female's legs charge forward. What she couldn't see was Marin was firing her fist forward while Ganiel kept Reyes occupied raining electricity against her side. Reyes had to tense to brace for the electrical attack so she was a sitting duck to Marin's armored coated fist. Reyes glared at Marin with an annoyed look lining her eyebrows. Her left side was being zapped with electricity by a devilish smirking Ganiel. Her left hand was lifted up with her forearm facing the electricity in a poor attempt to block it. Her right hand snapped forward to grab the wrist of Marin's punching arm. Reyes then took a firm step to the left, shoving herself farther into the lighting. Marin was more shocked by this than by Reyes grabbing her wrist, people didn't move while being hit by Ganiel's spells. Ganiel himself was a little shocked but he stayed calm.

"I've fought you before idiot. Your lightning doesn't sting as much," growled Reyes, looking right at Ganiel fiercely. She gave Marin zero attention. One step was all Reyes took and it was all she needed. Reyes was now to the side of Marin, giving Marin a straight path to the hole in the floor. Reyes used her physical strength and Marin's momentum to pull at Marin's wrist and send her tumbling down the hole. Marin wasn't able to catch herself nor did Ganiel save her, she fell. "Hey Danna, this trash is annoying me, keep it out of my way please." Danna just smiled and nodded, the decision of what to do had been made for her. An irritated look was stained on Marin's face as she tumbled down. The yellow-green armor stayed stretched over her skin. Her momentum made her fall to the side, where there was a ring of floor left on the third floor. Danna was chilling on the west side and Marin landed on the south side. There was no way with Marin's abilities she was going to get up to the stairs to get back to the top floor. This made her bit her lip angrily but it didn't take her long to decide there was only one course of action left for her to do, fight Danna. Her eyes narrowed down the bubbly looking girl who was looking back at her. Danna stayed clung into the wall, debating if she was going to try to fight from up there or drop down. Marin walked forward, with loud, angry steps.

Down on the second floor Baron was watching what he could through the holes in the floor while droning towards the stairwell to get up and join the fight. Taft wasn't moving, still flat on his face after falling. So it was time for Baron to fight one of the remaining enemies, his fight was won. Baron didn't squish Taft's head in, he figured the fall did Taft in. Baron started to take firm steps on the stairs, jogging quickly, with no flails in hands. He was completely oblivious to the brown dust that was rotting away at the base of the tower generating from Taft's palm.


	14. Ganiel's Tower Arc: The Mission

"Stinging Binds," muttered Danna, while still sitting in the hole in the wall. She just daintily stuck her hand out and an orange bind appeared over Marin's greenish-yellow armor. Marin was leaning over to pick up some of the shreds of floor that Baron's big flail had created earlier. Danna watched, expected Marin to buckle over in pain or at least cringe but none of those things happened. Marin looked at the orange bind curiously and disgusted. She tried to shake it off by flicking her wrist as she picked up a foot long chunk of metal in each hand. The frayed metal should've cut Marin's hand but she had her armor aura on so she wasn't hurt at all. Danna's magic continued to not hurt Marin.

"If you're trying to hurt me through my skin, my armor becomes one with my skin and it protects me from everything, so, you're wasting your time," calmly spoke Marin, already rid of her previous anger. But her face lit up red again as she chucked the two pieces of metal, one after the other, spinning like a disc at Danna. "Just Die!" Marin had some muscles on her, and the discs flew at Danna with solid speed. Despite their imperfect size they were both going to reach Danna. The golden hair mage pushed away from her hole in the wall and begun to slide down against the wall. One of the metal slabs flew out the hole while the other hit the wall before falling to the ground harmlessly, not even denting the wall.

"Halting Binds," muttered Danna under her breath. A black bind, just like the stinging bind that was on Marin's wrist, appeared around Danna's ankles and on the wall under her feet. Danna did this spell when she was about halfway down the wall. Her entire momentum and speed came to a halt, whipping herself forward a bit, but not causing any damage besides a sore neck. Right after Danna stopped moving the spell went away and she continued to slid down, coming to the ring of floor just fine, hurting her ankles just a bit as her knees bent when she hit the ground. Marin was already speeding forward with bouncing strides. The gap almost right after Danna hit the ground.

"Armored Girl Kick!" shouted Marin. Her leg swiped at the side of Danna's stomach like a sword. Her entire body was still covered in the green aura. The orange mark on her wrist from Danna was no longer there. Danna couldn't do much except take the kick. As the tough kick landed Danna made sure to brush her hand against Marin's hand. Marin thought nothing of it, it was close combat, bodies touched. There was a white mark around her wrist and Danna's wrist which she didn't notice.

"I want that ability," cutely mumbled Danna. Marin's leg was stretching back to the ground but she fired another armored coated fist right towards Danna's nose. "Copy Magic Armor Girl!" A green-yellow coating was slipped over Danna's entire body, just like Marin's magic. This happened right before the punch connected to Danna's face. The punch still did connect, but it hit armor, neither girl felt a thing.

"That is my magic! Ganiel helped me learn that magic. No one else can have it!" screamed Marin. Her face was flushed more red than ever, with veins popping from her neck. Her voice screeched so violently it hurt herself.

"I'll hide in here to buy myself time to find a way to beat you," confidently explained Danna. Danna stood straight up, looking right at Marin, making no moves to strike. Marin was still uncomfortably close to Danna and she was still ready to fight. She placed a palm right Danna's chest, shoving the girl against the wall while her other fist was jammed backwards, firing forwards at Danna's face now. Danna didn't want to take any attacks just in case so she tried to wiggle free but Marin was stronger and she didn't have much time before the punch hit. Now Danna could feel the armor slipping completely off her, having no trace, it was just, gone.

"Armor Shred!" angrily spat Marin. "Armor Girl Punch!" Danna and Marin still had their copy binds on their wrists and frantically Danna thought to throw her armor back up. Which she could do, but the solid fist was planted in her face before that could happen, breaking her nose. Danna's head was pushed back against the solid wall, hurting her face even more. Right after the green armor slipped over her entire body like a jacket but Marin's palm was still on Danna's stomach. Danna's armor started to slip off again as another punch came rolling forward. Again Marin's solid punch lined up against Danna's chin, cracking her nose even more, and slipping blood down her face. Danna couched and spat from the pain as Marin cocked her fist back again. "Stop using my!" she screamed violently again.

"Thanks for showing me that spell," weakly muttered Danna after another cough. She had sneaked her palm against Marin's stomach as well and another orange bind had found its away around Marin's other wrist. "Armor Shred" Before Marin's punch could reach Danna her own green armor had slipped right off. Instantly a sharp, stinging sensation ran across her entire body. Marin wiggled from the pain and her fist trembled down below her shoulder, losing its momentum and course. Marin could only shake, trying to regain her body movements back. Danna took the moment to catch her breath as sweat was dripped from her eyelids. She didn't waste the opportunity though, bending her knees, sliding her shoulder so it lined up right into Marin's chest. Before she could charge Marin into the hole in the floor both girls tumbled a step as the tower suddenly started leaning left. The creaking sounds of metal soon followed, echoing through the entire tower.

Down on the second floor Taft was still laying on his stomach, with his palm down against the ground, faking unconscious. Over a third of the room's wall had a view of the outside jungle, having been turned to dust. Baron was trotting up the staircase still, not even getting halfway up when the tower tilted. The tilt flung him right off the staircase but he rolled with it, spinning his body to land firmly on his feet, facing Taft and the newest hole. The hole was only getting larger as dust continued to eat away at it, sending the tower further over every second. It was only leaning at about an seventy degree angle at the moment so it wasn't in danger of falling yet but it wouldn't be more than a minute at this rate.

"What are you doing?" shouted Baron, more confused than angry. "You have allies on this tower too. I thought Fairy Tail was about family?" A white chain slipped into Baron's hands with a flail ball trailing behind him.

"My mission is to destroy that weapon on your top floor!" boldly but weakly shouted Taft, still laying on his stomach. His head was pulled up now, able to somewhat look at Baron. Blood had glued itself to Taft's legs which were free of shoes and pant legs due to the blow he took earlier. And his right hand was broken, though it was his left hand that was palmed against the floor, creating the trail of dust that went to the wall. Taft had some energy left, but his body just was not in the shape to let him stand up. Baron didn't waste time, he was running forward while flicking his flail back. "I have faith that my allies will find away out of this just fine. They are smart and tough. I'm going to ensure our part of the mission gets completed. Killing me won't bring this wall back!" Taft was so proud of himself, his eyes and teeth were glowing. Baron's flail had stretched behind him in the air now, but instead of bringing it forward, Baron let it fly back. He put all his energy into charging forward, towards the collapsing wall. The tower was at a solid sixty degree angle now. Everyone in the above floor was now against the wall, the floor was too crooked to stand on. Baron cruised right past Taft, and slipped through the hole, to the outside. Just a few feet outside of the tower, Baron shot up his hands to form a pillar, a new wall. His hands were held against the outside of the leaning tower, just barely able to reach part of it. But there was almost three hundred feet of falling tower behind Baron. He was muscular but not enough to hold the tower up, not on his own and definitely not with that angle. But he had to try. "You're insane," laughed Taft weakly.

"Says you," shouted Baron, offended. Taft still had some energy left and dust was swirling around his left leg, which was facing Baron's front. The dust formed a spear of dust about as long as Taft's leg was, shooting right back into Baron's shoulder.

"Dust Devil's Spear!" spat Taft, still on the ground. He didn't have to be standing for the spell to expand off his leg. The dust spear dug into Baron's shoulder, piercing his skin but it didn't go completely through. What it did do was push Baron back a few feet, slipping his grip off the tower. The dismal chance he had of keeping the tower up was completely gone as his body slid back, under the falling tower. Ganiel's tower was leaning too far over, it was no longer creeping to the side, it was crashing. In a few blinks Baron was crushed under the tower, not having a chance of survival. Taft was safe inside and he stayed on his front, out of magical power. All he could do was lay there and hope that his allies could make it out of the tower just fine. Worry was squinted all over his face along with regret. He got too carried away, too bold. He wanted to punch himself for crashing the tower, but all he could do was wait and hope.

Up on the third floor the two armored girls were flopping around against the wall that was crashing. The tower was in straight free fall now. Metal was creaking all over, sometimes painfully loud, since the entire tower was metal. But there was a creak that stood out to Danna. Currently Danna was farther away from the wall, with Marin in the middle like a sandwich. The creak came from the hanging stairwell behind the girls. This eighty foot long staircase had its connection to the floor cut from the flail but it was still welded to the ceiling. Except the hole that Ganiel made plus the falling of the tower had loosened the stairwell's grip of its last connection to anything solid. Marin was still wrestling with the pain of the stinging bind which was still roaring in Marin's body. It was an effective spell, it was Danna's go to spell. But it was never this effective, Marin was now barely moving. She grew comfortable behind her armor, she forgot what pain felt like it. It had been years since she felt physical pain. She wasn't able to throw her armor back up but Danna still kept her palm in Marin's stomach. Her free hand shot up, with a blue bind wrapped around the wrist. Another blue bind was wrapped around the hanging end of the staircase and a blue, magical chain appeared between the two binds. With all her force, Danna yanked her arm down. She didnt have a lot of power, but not a lot was needed as the stairwell was yanked free. The long stairwell followed the momentum down, crashing right at the girls. The tower itself was still falling, Danna wasn't sure how close it was too the ground. Her bind to the stairwell was erased but it kept falling towards the girls. A blue bind stayed on Danna's wrist and now it was connect to point on the wall behind her, a little to the side of the staircase. This chain was instantly shortened, yanking Danna back. As she flew back she pressed her palm on more time to clear any hint of armor Marin had. Marin was still wiggling with the pain, pressed against the wall. She was conscious of what was happening and tried to summon her armor, but she couldn't focus. Danna's body was coated with the green-yellow armor, her white bind was still on hers and Marin's wrist. As she was yanked up towards the wall which was now like a ceiling, she passed the falling staircase and scraped one hand along it. Once Danna was high enough in the air she canceled the chain and just drifted in the air, huddling her armor covered body together. When the staircase was touched, a red bind appeared around the end of the staircase, the torn end that was on line to hit Marin. No armor had covered Marin yet, she closed her eyes and screamed in frustration. Tears rolled down her eyes as the scream tore at her throat.

"I love you Ganiel," she mumbled.

"Exploding Binds Staircase Drop!" chanted Danna. Right as the tower slammed against the ground, Marin being against the wall that hit the ground first, the staircase also slammed against Marin. Her body was slammed up from hitting the ground, pain surging through her broken back. Metal broken, bent and scattered all along as the three hundred foot tower crashed down, breaking trees on its way down. This destruction wasn't including the eight foot staircase that exploded in Marin's face. Red and black clouds of fire exploded off the bind that was on the stairwell's end. Between slamming her back, the metal shards from the tire, the heat of the explosion that engulfed her, and the shards of staircase that flew around, Marin had been defeated. Danna flopped around, being hit by a few pieces of breaking wall as she flew through the air. Her body hit the ground and rolled around like a ball. She kept her head tucked into her chest and her knees up into her stomach. After she had pinballed around for a while, she stopped. But Danna stayed still, dropping her hands to the ground and letting out a sigh. She wasn't entirely sure Marin was defeated, but she hoped so, because while Danna was mostly alright physically, she was just exhausted.

Back on the base floor, Taft was still laying there. The tower had broke off clear of him, scooting even farther away when he it landed. Dust from the broken trees and dirt filled the air but Taft was totally alright. From the basement staircase to his right Glail poked his sweaty head. Fresh air blasted him in the face, much to his surprise. Freya was wrapped around his back, still unconscious. There were footsteps and voices from underneath Glail.

"The fuck did you do?" wondered Glail, noticing Taft immediately.

"What does it look like? The mission," answered Taft exhaustedly, with a chuckle. Glail just shook his head, laughing as well as he continued up the stairs.

"You're crazy," Glail laughed. Behind him were dozens of humans, all walking slowly, like they had no energy. The light was a big surprise, making them all squint as they made their way up. Some of them had identical green tattoos of a snake lady.

"Hey go make sure Danna and Reyes are okay. I didn't exactly get their permission to crash the tower. But watch out, I don't know how many enemies are left, alright?" asked Taft with worry welling up in his eyes, a sad look glazed over his face.

"Yeah will do, put that frown away. That isn't Taft, I'm sure they are fine," reassured Glail with a smile. His friendly, toothy smile turned a slight smile back on Taft's face. Glail bent over weakly, not having all his magic power back and his body was sore. He softly let Freya down to the ground, next to Taft. "Hey everyone stay here. We need to make sure the coast is clear, got it?" Glail ordered like a leader, and no one objected to his firm tone. The people were too scared too run off and the Lamia Scale mages had zero magic left, which left some of them frustrated they couldn't help. But for all of them, even walking was a chore. Glail turned his front to the crashed tower and began to take a troll. After one step a burst of lightning came out in the distance, near the tip of the tower. This came from inside the tower, erupting a hole for Ganiel to climb out of. Glail could barely see this action, but he clearly saw the spell and knew it wasn't one of his allies. "Well we have at least one enemy left," he mumbled. Another burst of energy came from around the same area, this was a pole of white energy, with a key-like tip. This long key turned like it was unlocking something, which created a door in the wall that did not previously exist. Reyes climbed of this door, bloody, cut and pissed off. Ganiel was in the same shape but they turned their aggression on each other. "And there is Reyes!" cheered Ganiel. Taft smiled at those words but that wasn't the one he was worried about. Glail was now making headway into the tower ruins. Taft hoped for the best as Reyes slammed down a white key on a bolt of electricity that was shot at her.


	15. Ganiel's Tower Arc: The Shape Shifter

Corbac and Phynn made their way through the prison, which was darkly lit but the floor and the walls were made of the most solid wood. They were lead to a prison, with thick metal bars in front of it. The cell itself had no lights, all the lights were in the hall. The small room had one torn, thin blanket and a plate with a few half eaten bits of bread on it. That was all that was inside besides a a human. This human was bald and chubby. Rolls of fat jiggled around his neck and arms. He was wearing a loose, brown robe, it was just like a dress, it was standard for all the prisoners. Inside the walls of the cell were materials to completely halt any magic. This was reliable technology. Yet the prisoner was constantly changing parts of his body, his arms and face especially were shifting to look like someone else's arms and faces every second. He was swapping between thousands of body parts, once he had seen someone once, he could look like them. This prisoner sat on his butt, leaning against the wall with a happy hum leaking out of his lips. He watched curiously as the two mages approached with a guard leading them. He could clearly see Corbac's fairy tail mark on his jaw. Corbac nodded at the guard when they stopped in front of the cell. The guard nodded back as he walked away. Phynn was already looking into the cell, watching with interest as she crouched down on her knees to look straight at the shape shifter.

"The guards say you called yourself Mono. What are you doing in Ganiel's place Mono?" sweetly asked Phynn in a gentle tone. She was wearing a light summer dress and had her hair down. She looked very kind at the moment. Corbac had his long hair flowed back past his shoulders and stood with his thick arms crossed. But Mono's attention stayed on the pretty Phynn, which is exactly what they wanted.

"I wanted to, Mono a bad boy, Mono deserve to be here," whined Mono in a high pitched voice. The man's original body was probably in his early twenties but his voice never matured.

"Why do you say that? You don't seem like a bad person," wondered Phynn, continuing to speak softly. And Corbac continued to stay, saying nothing. His eyes were scanning the prison, trying to figure out how Mono was using magic.

"Mono, Mono kill a lot of people," cried Mono. The other prisoners and guards heard this conversation but the guards stayed put and none of the cells were close enough that the other prisoners could even see what was going on.

"Why-"

"But Mono don't remember, Mono don't remember a thing. But Ganiel, he say I did. He say he stopped me from killing more, he saved me. Ganiel good man, Ganiel honest man." It took all Phynn had not to scoff at that, but Corbac didn't have that restraint. Mono paid no attention to Corbac's scoffing.

"So Ganiel asked you to replace him because you owed him?" questioned Phynn, still bent on her knees. Mono nodded along, tears still raining from his beady little black eyes. "Why didn't you tell the guards this?"

"Because!" cried Mono again. "Because, because." His voice got quieter so Phynn and Corbac both leaned closer to the bars. "Because Black Empire wants me to test fairies," growled Mono in a deep, devilish voice. His words alerted Corbac and Phynn but before they could do anything Mono jammed his hands forward. They grew in both width and length, fat still dripping off them. His hands burst through the metal bars easily and wrapped his now long fingers around Phynn and Corbac's head. The two mages were easily shoved against the sturdy wall behind them, not even the strong Corbac could resist Mono's strength. Mono grinned happily as he started to crush the two mage's heads. Both Corbac and Phynn grimaced as they scrambled to fire spells. But before they could all three mages halted for a second. A fourth magical presence entered the hall and this man looked right at Mono, piercing his soul with a glare. Mono was scarred by this magical presence, but so were Corbac and Phynn, even though they knew that magical presence and that it was on their side. The warden of the prison and one of the ten wizard saints, Palan Blu. Palan was a seven foot tall man that was dressed like a king. His silk rob had several layers of purple, silver and white as it fell down his body from his shoulders. Real silver necklaces, rings, and pendants were all over his body and clothes. His skin was perfectly soft and his long, brown hair was flawlessly straight.

"I knew there was something weird about your situation Mono," spoke Palan in a royal voice. "So you wanted to draw some fairies to you. Remove your hands off them before I blow off your head!" Palan looked fiercely at Mono with burning red eyes. Mono sighed as his long hands shrunk back into his body, removing his grip from the fairies. Both Phynn and Corbac took a gasp of air but they continued preparing spells. Mono just grinned again as he leaned back, crushing the wall behind him quite easily. Before even a ripple of Phynn's storm breath was fired out, Mono was gone. For a second it looked like he was shrinking. But there wasn't any sign of him. What he broke into was just another hallway full of cells. "Lock down the prison!" commanded Palan, still standing tall. None of the guards argued, instantly starting the protocol.

"Get me a communication lacrima!" ordered Corbac. "We need to contact Ales at once, I have a bad feeling."


	16. Ganiel's Tower Arc: Demon vs Devil

"Marin, Marin!" screamed Ganiel. His fluffy hair had been ruffled, currently plastered to his forehead with sweat and blood. Sweat and blood was a theme across his entire body, staining his torn clothes. Reyes was in the same shape. The only part of her that was untouched was her eye patch that had her guild mark on it. While Ganiel was frantically shouting he continued to blast Reyes with yellow electricity from his hands that were cackling with it. Reyes switched between bobbing and weaving through the blasts and blocking the blasts with the shiny white keys she had gripped in each hand.

"What, can't beat me alone?" teased Reyes as she ducked under a blast of lighting with her tongue stuck out. Currently there was about five feet of space between them and they were fighting on the remains of the crashed tower. Up to their right the canon had skidded out. The glass power source was still attached to the metal barrel. Both items were cracked, dented and scratched. While the long barrel was dented all over, the dangerous part was a hole in had on its side. It wasn't a big hole, but it was there. The orange energy in the glass orb had leaked out of the small orb and now was flashing brightly while bubbling. An uneasy and scared face was worn over Ganiel's head.

"No you idiot," he angrily barked. Ganiel flicked both wrists, sending another flash of electricity at Reyes. This time Reyes crossed her keys together in an x shape over her face and the weapons blocked the blast, though sending Reyes skidding back through the rubble. "Your little act has made my weapon very unstable. It was already in the launching process which luckily it finished before the tower was wrecked. If it didn't we would all be dead. But now it is going to fire. God knows where its going to hit now, the aiming module is crushed so it'll probably fire straight. But now your antics put a hole in the gun, and instead of firing, energy will leak out of that hole and it'll explode, killing all of us." Ganiel lost his composure and just shouting, spit flying with every word. Reyes kept her eyes narrowed, looking angrily back at Ganiel.

"And you need Marin because her armor power can fill that hole?" wondered Danna. Danna was drifting forward towards the fight on the opposite side of the fight that the canon was. She still had the white copy bind around her wrist, it didn't go away when the other one died. It'd last as long as Danna had the energy to make it last. So she had still had armor aura covered across her entire body. Her voice got both fighters to turn an eye that way, but neither stopped focusing on the other.

"You have her power," muttered Ganiel.

"I copied it. I'll fill the hole. Just don't try to kill me," informed Danna weakly. She stumbled with every stride but she pushed forward.

"Don't bother!" roared Reyes. She held out one of her keys to the side, pointing it right at the weapon's power source. "If we destroy that orb, it'll-"

"Kill us all!" shouted Ganiel, fuming. "Don't you do it. The weapon is already in the firing stage. It cant be stopped, if you break that orb the energy will seep out and explode, killing us all. I know we are on opposite sides of this conflict. But I don't want to die. So trust me!"

"I don't," growled Reyes with her brows furrowed. "We have danced enough times. I'd say I know you well enough, you'll use your words to get what you want."

"I trust him," blurted Danna, walking around Reyes's back. An angry rush ran down Reyes's back, making her want to punch Danna. But she kept focused on the opponent, dancing around more blasts of electricity. "I know I probably shouldn't. If I fill this hole the weapon could cause a lot of damage. But there arent any cities or villages or anything for a thousand miles the way that the canon is currently pointed. And if he is right and if we tamper with it and it explodes, we kill the people we came here to save. So I think we should listen to him, you just beat him up Reyes."

"With pleasure," Reyes growled. "But fine, you have a point. But I will never trust him. You know why Black Empire hired him for this job?" Reyes tried to rush forward but another blast of energy came flying her way from Ganiel's hands and she had to hop back.

"Because I know powerful demon slayer magic?" answered Ganiel with a proud smirk. His smirk flashed over his anger.

"Not just that," replied Reyes.

"Because I am a genius in both technology and genetics?" Danna didn't try to answer the question, she was busy swimming through the debris to get the canon. She had just reached the canon's base and was climbing on top now.

"Or that,"

"Because I have a natural leadership ability? I mean that has to be. They gave me two fighters from some old allied guild that had broken up. A doctor man from who knows where, and then my lifelong ally that I had won over with my own charm. And I made it all work," bragged Ganiel proudly.

"Because you get stuff done. You get results. If plan A fails, you have all the way down to plan z in your head," honestly answered Reyes. Danna had reached the hole now and it was just the perfect sized for her arm. She jammed her tense fist down it, fitting halfway down her forearm. She didn't feel anything inside the barrel, it felt hollow.

"Get ready Fairy. It's going to fire!" Danna was scared,but she held her ground. Without warning the orange energy from the orb disappeared and an orange beam fired out of the canon. This glowing beam filled the entire canon barrel and shot out as far as the eyes could see. The trees and bits of the ground were completely cleared out. Marin was sent flying up in the air over thirty feet up. The canon had fired just fine, the hole didn't erupt. Danna was completely unconscious though, the blow took the last of her stamina. Her white bind faded from her wrist and the green armor slipped off as well. Black smoke trailed off Danna's hand, the hand she jammed in the canon was completely gone. Just a burnt stubble remained. Reyes watched in fear as the unconscious Danna fell back to the ground. Ganiel smirked as he saw this fear in Reyes. "You're not getting past me. Now that the canon is fired I don't have to hold back. Lightning Devil's Rage!" A burst of electricity fired out through every part of Ganiel's body, straight at Reyes. Reyes couldn't break away from the attack, she raised her keys in an x pattern to try to block but it didn't work very well as lightning struck every part of Reyes's body. She did not scream though. Before Danna could smack the ground a muscular arm slid under her neck and knees, clutching her tightly. White flames erupted through the air, helping Glail glide down safely to the ground. He noticed Danna's arm right away, even though it wasn't bleeding it made his heart patter. After the electrical burst faded Reyes was still standing tall, clinching her teeth together.

"Hey Reyes I'm going to take Danna to Freya, can you handle this guy?" wondered Glail, speaking loud.

"That's what I was going to suggest. Go!" confirmed Reyes, the keys in her hands fading away. Glail just nodded and started to stride away with white flames trailing behind his legs. Ganiel didn't fire a spell at Glail, he let the mage pass.

"As I suspected when you took my other blasts earlier. Now that you survived my Devil's Rage I know for sure. You found some way to limit your magical power. That is the only way you would survive that. You beat me the other time's we fought. But now you have less power at your disposal and I have the ankheiser's dna in me. What is your strategy going to be?" wondered Ganiel, gloating.

"I'm going to stab a key into your heart at some point," blurted Reyes. Ganiel just chuckled, flicking his hair back. The two fighters stayed tense, glaring at each other, but neither casted a spell. "More importantly. Why did you ally yourself with Black Empire. You realize you're dead now right? They will send men here to see how your event ended and when they see you failed. They'll kill you."

"I plan to kill you and run away. I don't suppose you'd just let me run," cackled Ganiel.

"I'd let you run so I could have a free shot in your back," seriously blurted Reyes. Ganiel laughed, a quick laugh but a real one.

"So you found out I'm working with Black Empire. You know what they do. What are you going to do? When those men come, they are going to kill you. You have injured mages and drained civilians. You won't be able to run away before they get here. Reyes shrugged and raised her eyebrows.

"You won't be around to find out." Reyes had enough talking and she jetted forward with long strides. As she ran white glowing keys, each about two inches long circled around Ganiel. Right after they appeared they all shot straight at the man. Ganiel didn't hesitate in jumping up. Electricity pumped from his feet and not even one key scraped him, they all slammed into the ground and disappeared.

"Lightning Devil's Armored Spark!" Bright yellow electricity ran down from his shoulders, covering both arms entirely. This electricity was then pumped out of Ganiel's arms like a canon. Except the lightning didn't fire straight, it jagged around. The streaks were still heading towards Reyes but she wasn't sure what direction they would end up coming from. She didn't stop running though, letting two key blades appear in her hands, each two feet in length. Reyes flicked both her wrists out to block the streaks but both streaks turned around her keys at the last second, curving inside to smack her in the chest, sending her flying back off her feet. She couldn't bring her feet down in time, paralysis starting to seep in, numbing her body. Her butt smacked the ground first, making her bounce up and spin around to her back. Before she could tumble more two keys shot down into the ground from her hands, halting her immediately. She was crouched over now, bringing her feet to the ground and the two keys disappeared. She was panting heavily now, with black marks scattered across her body and sweat plastered to her ponytail which was now stiff. Ganiel was breathing heavily too, but he was still standing tall. Ganiel jammed both his hands in the air and electricity cackled in his fingers.

"I want my magical power back damnit," Reyes cursed in her head. "That one trick would work against him if he wasn't a devil slayer. If I can't pull out all my magic I guess I'll just win how Phynn wins." Reyes jolted her head up, looking Ganiel fiercely in the eyes. She bounced back to her feet and started sprinting forward again. This time no keys appeared in her hands.

"I have a trick that would defeat you, despite your ankheiser DNA. But your devil slayer magic would stop it," shouted Reyes loudly, frustration pumping through her.

"What, do you have a spell that turns you into a demon?" laughed Ganiel, still with his hands raised.

"No," replied Reyes with a smirk. "I'm already a demon!" Ganiel just shrugged, having no argument to that. He then dropped his hands lifelessly to his side, the electricity no longer cackling from them. Reyes could feel the looming danger right over her head and looked up just to see a pillar of yellow electricity drop down on her. Her entire body was engulfed in the ten foot wide pillar. Ganiel turned away his attention from Reyes, trying to feel the magic presences of everyone else, glancing his head around to find an escape route. His attention turned right back to Reyes when he realized her magical power was not disappearing. He thought for sure that attack, his strongest attack would do her in. The pillar was still raining down, Reyes could not be seen. But something was bubbling out of the pillar. "O's Splitting Streak Thunder Edition!" Little white keys, now streaking with electricity were flying straight through the air at Ganiel. The keys borrowed the speed of the electricity, each one flying faster than Ganiel could blink. One key slammed into his shoulder, pushing him back a nudge. Then the next key hit his left knee, then another key hit his other shoulder. And the keys kept raging forward with no breaks between them, several keys flying at the same time. The storm of keys continued forward, smashing into Ganiel. He didn't have time to counter or dodge, the onslaught of keys kept his body occupied. The one hundredth key fired just as the pillar ended, revealing Reyes dropped on her knees with her bangs flopped over her eyes. But she was still conscious. The last key streaked right at Ganiel's heart. The keys vanished after they hit, so all one hundred had room to hit. Ganiel was covered with cuts and bruises as he dropped to his back. His eyes were closed and his magical presence was just a faint flicker. Reyes could feel the change in his magical presence and smiled victoriously. Her hands were dropped to her side, she stayed with her back straight, but she was not moving either. "I killed my parents. I was playing around with my key magic and accidentally found a magical room that all the ankheiser were imprisoned in and I unlocked it," panted Reyes. "So I truly am a demon." No tears or emotion welled in her face, she just wore a straight face.

"Why, why are you telling me this?" wondered Ganiel with his last breath. Actual sadness trembled in his eyes upon hearing these words. Reyes just shrugged as she looked up the sky.

"I never told anyone. I was told sharing is healthy, and it just felt like the time," blurted Reyes. There was so much Ganiel wanted to say back, mostly insults, but his consciousness faded.


	17. Ganiel's Tower Arc: Despair and Hope

Reyes was limping along with Glail's shoulder under her armpit like a crutch. They were walking back to the tower's base, where everyone was gathered around, waiting. The duo could see their comrades clearly. Freya was sitting up now, completely conscious. Danna was laying down on her back, with her hand still missing but the wound had been sealed magical, her skin had sealed over it, creating a smooth stump.

"I've been hanging around your sister too much," Reyes weakly coughed. "That finishing move was much more something she would do." Reyes felt different, her magical power was soaring through her body now, having been unlocked. Though her body was still beat up and bruised.

"Yeah you dummy," chuckled Glail. He smiled as they approached their friends, who all smiled even bigger upon seeing Reyes alive and mostly well.

"Mission accomplished, good job team!" shouted Reyes as loudly as she could. Her voice wasn't that loud but the group could still hear her. Lamia scale's mages and the civilians all erupted in clapping that joyously filled the air. Most of the hostages were sitting or crouched over, still exhausted and still without any magical power back. Suddenly everyone's eyes shrank as there was crumbling and clattering behind Reyes and Glail. Three lizard like creatures were creeping towards Reyes and Glail. These lizard creatures were all human sized, each having the body size of Ganiel, Marin and Baron respectively. The size were the only thing these creatures had in common with their former human selves. They were covered in dark green scales and crept forward on all fours. Hands were no more, replaced with three fingered hands and feet which were both identical. Their scales spread to their faces as well, bunching around beady black eyes. Their faces were all flat, having no nose or lips protruding out. They crawled on top of the wrecked tower, almost gliding over the debris.

"Behind you!" shrieked one of the Lamia Scale mages. All they could do was tense their muscles and hope for the best, none of them really able to even throw a punch. The warning wasn't needed though, Glail and Reyes already had their necks turned to the attackers.

"This is what I said would happen," mentioned Freya loudly. Reyes just nodded, remembering the meeting with Ales and Corbac earlier. "They mutated, their ankheiser dna splicing wasn't stable. But they've mutated into something new, something different. I don't think there is any trace of the ankheiser's power." Freya spoke with fear, not able to get to her feet herself. Taft and Danna watched but both were laying on the ground. Taft tried to push up to stand but his exhausted arms couldn't get him more than a few inches off the ground.

"There is no more akheiser in them, I can feel it gone," cooly and quietly muttered Reyes, pushing Glail gently away from her. Glail let himself be pushed, knowing they both would need space to cast spells. He put his hands together below his waste, to the side and flames sparked up. But Glail didn't have time to fire a spell as Reyes just flicked her right hand, sending three, thin keys streaking out. These long, white keys flew in different directions, each towards a lizard creature. This spell was much more faster and powerful than anything she had fired before. The magical presence from the spell was immense. Each key flew right through each lizard's neck, before any of them could even tilt to dodge. The lizards all planted on their faces dead, or unconscious. Either way they were not moving. The entire group sighed a breath of relief but Glail frowned, letting his flames evaporate. Suddenly concrete from the tower's base was sent flying up as two more lizard creatures burst out of the basement. They both appeared right behind Taft and their beady eyes focused on him. Reyes's with her back facing these creatures just flicked her left arm back, sending two more keys flying. These long keys soared out, pierced through the necks of both lizards, dropping them to the ground. Everyone sighed a breath of relief again, and even Reyes dropped her guard this time. She started to tilt to the side, her left leg giving out. Glail quickly shuffled his body in and under her arm, propping her back up.

"Bravo," said an eery voice followed by a haunting clap. The owner of this voice was coming from the side of the massive group, coming the way that Fairy Tail first came. The over of this voice was a silver haired man, silver hair running down to his shoulders, over a shining, black, silk cloak. He was the shortest of his group, standing at five foot ten. He was Dice, a member of Black Empire. His entire right arm was tattooed black, the mark of his guild. Behind him were two other men, both with black arms. Haddy Mathis was wearing a similar black cloak, but he had dark red hair that was very short. Haddy was about ten years older than the thirty year old Dice, having wrinkles crease under his big, brown eyes. The last man was Baccor Mint, a bald, burley man who was wearing a raggedy white shirt and torn, brown shorts. His guild mark stood out even more since it didn't blend in with his clothes. This guild mark was known by everyone and the mages clinched their lips. The civilians only backed away in fear, most of them dropping to their butts. "You saved everyone, stopped the canon from killing anyone, and defeated all five enemies, even with their mutated forms. Most impressive Fairy Tail." Dice spoke calmly, his voice was spooky because it was so calm. He strolled forward with long strides as did the two men behind him. Dice had something different from his comrades, a golden lantern was wrapped to his waste, with a black ball of flames bouncing around inside. Glail and Reyes continued to limp forward, faster than ever now. Everyone else stayed put, since really none of them could actually move. "Too bad we have to kill you. Ganiel's tower was our investment. Ganiel and the others were all our investment."

"I'll sit this one out," yawned Baccor, stretching back his hands. "There are only two mages within even a bit of magic left. Plus I like to watch you guys fight." Both Haddy and Dice shrugged. Even though the group of hostages and fairy tail mages was closer, the two men took a direct bath to Glail and Reyes. Dice didn't actually move though, he just rubbed his lantern quickly, letting the black flames seep out. These flames grew over one hundred times their size as they stretched out to spray Glail right in the face. Glail didn't even have time to fire a spell or raise an arm to block. He was able to close his eyes as the flames sprayed in his face. He wasn't burnt but he grimaced and sweated. All he could do was stand there as the flames started to circle around his head. The others could only watch in horror, their bodies and eyes trembling in fear. The two S class mages of Lamia Scale both dug their fingers deep in their fists, drawing blood, so frustrated they couldn't help. The only one able to help was Reyes but before she could even look over at Glail she was flying back, with a black hand shoved across her face. Reyes shot down keys from her hands to dig into the ground but Haddy, who was shoving his hand into Reyes, flicked his free hand, and both keys snapped in half. Magic welled up in Haddy's arm as he came to an instant stop, but Reyes was blown forward, dancing across the debris of the tower helplessly. Her body came to a rolling stop, her arms flopping around, both broken. She wasn't sure what else was broken as she fell to her stomach. She was able to land to face Haddy, who was victoriously patting his bicep. From the ground Reyes flicked her wrist, creating another long key that soared up at Haddy's face. The older man just grinned, thick lines forming around his lips. Haddy snapped his hand forward like a snake. His hands clasped around the key and snapped it instantly. His hand wasn't cut or anything. Haddy continued to flash his teeth victoriously.

"He has too much destructive power, and I can't move. Looks like I get to use that," thought Reyes with her face tense, chewing on her bottom lip. Haddy bent his knees to charge forward again but stopped as Reyes jammed a key into the air. She was opening up the space to a room, which was black like space. Curiosity raised Haddy's eyebrows and he just flopped his hands to his side, canceling all the magic he had building up. He could feel an uneasy, powerful magic seeping out of this room but stood across from it with no guard.

Over to the side Glail dropped to his knees, painful choking noises coming out of his mouth. He still couldn't even raise a hand towards Dice, it took all Glail's strength to not fall to his face.

"It's hopeless, we are all going to die!" exclaimed one of the civilians, sweat pouring down their wide eyes.

"Shut up! Have faith in Fairy Tail," growled a silver headed man named Leon the Third. Leon clinched his jaw he wanted to slap the back of the person's head so bad but he didn't have the strength. Everyone kept their eyes on the fights, with panic and fear shaking. Even Fairy Tail's own mages were scared, the situation looked dire. Reyes's key finished opening up the room and out walked a creature, a powerful magical presence dripping from this creature's body. This was a six foot tall creature. It's head, hands and feet looked like wood, like it was birthed from a tree. His arms and chest were made up of scales, but some parts looked like the scales had totally melted off and other parts looked like the scales were going to slip off. These scales were a deep, forest green and the wood parts of his body was a light brown. This demon had a round face that was square at the top. Little branches and leaves sprung off his head but neither were very long. The creature's legs were very long, even though he was only six feet tall. He strolled forward on his square feet. His long fingers were all crooked and very skinny. But they looked solid and they were all sharp on the ends. This was an actual ankheiser demon. Haddy recognized it right away and his jaw dropped in awe. Childish excitement rumbled through his body as he continued to watch, waiting to see if Reyes could actually control the ankheiser. His excitement quickly dropped and a frown swished across his face as the ankheiser shot a claw back into Reyes. The demon's thin fingers grew in length and were clumped together, piercing Reyes's arm like a spear. The group of onlookers also had frowns pass over their faces, though their frowns were from hopelessness. Baccor just stretched back, letting another yawn seep out as he stayed put. Suddenly the ankheiser spun around and bolted towards Haddy, yanking its claw from Reyes. Instead the demon swung both hands forward, claws extending at Haddy as it ran with incredible strides. The ankheiser extended both claws at Haddy, wearing a smirk that matched Reyes.

"Everyone relax, I have this under control," reassured Reyes confidently. Haddy hastily raised both hands up to block the oncoming claws. The sharp claws that easily pierced Reyes's arm did not pierce Haddy's arms as the claws slammed together like a thick spear. However Haddy did wince as he was sent flying back several feet. His heels dug down into the ground as an excited smile yet again was smeared across his face.

Dice continued to stand straight up, looking down at Glail while still several feet back. The black fire just continued to wrap around Glail's head, being out of the lantern completely now. Suddenly Glail snapped his hand up into the black flames. He screamed loudly, more in determination than in pain. Dice watched, still standing straight up, with one eyebrows raised and his hips tilted. White fires poured out of Glail's hands to dilute the black flames. And it worked, white flames engulfed Glail's head, pushing away the black fire.

"I don't care what guild you are from. Alright well actually I kind of do," muttered Glail loudly. "But that's not the point. We all succeeded a tough mission. And these people need to go back to their families. And that is going to happen, I don't care if I have to fight the guild master of Black Empire!" The black fire was still around Glail's white flames and it came to a stop. It shrunk back to a small ball size and bounced behind Glail's shoulders. Freya, Danna and Taft smiled proudly at Glail's declaration, small hope shining back in their hearts. Dice ignored those words, his ears were focused on his little flame. They seemed to be having a sort of conversation.

"What, you're leaving me for him?" blurted Dice. The little black flame warmly circled around Glail. Despite the situation, Dice wasn't angry, just more surprised and intrigued than anything. Dice glanced over to Haddy who ended up stopping right next to him. A happy grin had stretched across Haddy's face from ear to ear. "Say Haddy. I see those eyes, you must be thinking what I'm thinking." The red headed Haddy glanced to his friend for a second, the ankheiser was charging again. Haddy nodded as he jammed his arm out to grab his comrades shoulder. Before the ankheiser's extending claws could reach them the two men had vanished. They appeared back where they started, over by Baccor.

"To clarify. You want to report this kids to the master?" wondered Haddy in an official voice. Dice nodded firmly as Baccor just rolled back his eyes.

"Somehow this kid got my spirit to change sides, that is very impressive," mentioned Dice in awe. The ankheiser darted his head around in confusion before latching his glare back on Haddy and charging forward.

"I agree. And this girl is able to summon and control an akheiser. Very noteworthy. Let us leave then," informed Haddy, keeping his hand on his comrade's shoulder. Baccor shook his head angrily as he marched forward.

"I wanted to watch you guys fight. Not spare everyone's lives because these two mages can do magic, oooooh how special," groaned Baccor. The ankheiser was still charging but it had a few seconds before it got to its target. "You can leave and report whatever to whoever. But I'm staying to slaughter this group. Both Haddy and Dice sighed as they rolled their own eyes.

"We can not stop you, because Black Empire members can not fight each other. But we are going to report our findings of these special kids, and that you killed them," informed Dice angrily.

"Don't care," mumbled Baccor, darting forward. Instead of slamming into the oncoming ankheiser, Baccor ran around him. He wasn't using speed magic, he was just really fast. The ankheiser couldn't even swipe at Baccor before he passed. Haddy shrugged as he kept his arm on Dice and the two men vanished. Baccor finished his run right over Reyes, jamming her head into the ground with his heavy boot. Glail was still laying on his knees, fighting to stay conscious. The black flame bounced around behind him but didn't shoot out to help Reyes. The ankheiser followed Baccor and adjusted its course to charge back at the man. Every mage tried to move forward, with just one opponent they could overrun him, pin him down even without magic. But no one could take more than a step, and they were wobbly steps. Climbing out of the dungeon took everything the Lamia Scale mages had. Little specs of dust spun around Taft's hand but not enough for a spell. "That demon you have there. It is really scary. I know all about it. If I get into a sparring match with it, I could die. So I'll just kill its master instead!" Reyes couldn't summon any keys or even move. All she could do was grimace in frustration as blood continued to pour down her arm. Hopelessness was suddenly gone, from everyone's hearts and minds. There was a presence, a feeling around that made everyone except Baccor feel good about their survival. Still no one could move and no one had magic except the ankheiser. They couldn't explain this feeling but they all felt it as a light smile perked on their relaxed faces. The opposite feeling welled in Baccor's heart. Fear made his face crumble and his skin grow pale. He wanted to go home, but he wasn't going anywhere in a big hole in his chest. Orange flames shot through this hole, with a pale, orange haired Ales standing behind Baccor with her hand on the other side of the hole. Baccor dropped right to his face, with no life left. There wasn't the hostile presence of anyone else around.

"Good job Fairy Tail, now let's go home!" said Ales with a cheery smile.


	18. Three Path's Arc: The Fairy Saint

Weeks had passed since Fairy Tail invaded Ganiel's tower. The civilians had returned to Margaret Town and Lamia Scale's mages went back to their guild. Fairy Tail's mages had all returned as well, including Corbac and Phynn. Though Phynn was back out again, as were Danna and Reyes, who went out together. On the guild's base floor there was an infirmary, it was a square room with ten soft beds and a lot of medical supplies. Glail was sitting on one of these beds, sewing some sort of patch with bright colored thread. Glail's wounds had been healed, his magic power had returned. Nothing seemed wrong with him. Ales was sitting on the bed next to him, sitting cross legged, being still and quiet. She didn't seem to have any wounds either. The black flames were still with Glail, they were in a little ball form. These flames stayed on the side of Glail opposite from Ales, they didn't move at all. Taft pushed through the swinging wood door and came strolling into the entrance. He looked at the two guild members and then at the black flames with a chuckle.

"Ah it is amazing. These flames were causing so much trouble, bouncing around, burning everything on the train home. But now it is so afraid of you, it won't even move," commented Taft with amusement. He strolled into the middle of the room before stopping. Ales glanced up at him but Glail kept his focus on his sewing.

"Whatever it is it is living," mentioned Ales softly. "It is an interesting little thing. But I really think it is on Glail's side. You guys said it never caused real damage, just lit whatever it touched on fire. But it almost killed Glail when it was used against him." Ales shrugged as her eyes were in deep thought. Both Glail and Taft had nothing to add, they just shrugged themselves. The rest of the guild members were out in the guild's main hall, being merry like usual. Another burst through the door into the infirmary, it was Phynn. She was wearing a frilly, gray dress with her green hair pinned back. In her hands was a metal orb with a little glass window in the middle. This orb was about eight inches across. The metal was smooth and well crafted. Phynn chucked it underhand, quickly flying at Glail. Without even looking Glail stuck out a hand to catch the orb. The black flames did a little dance as they hastily swarmed inside of the glass window. Happily they bounced around inside the orb, but they stayed contained in it.

"You're welcome," growled Phynn with fake anger.

"Thank you big sis, you're the greatest most amazing person in the widest of worlds," replied Glail with a fake smile.

"That's all I ever wanted to hear," cutely replied Phynn. "That metal is supposed to help suppress fire and the flame went in there quickly. But that was on its own, that orb doesn't suck in fire or anything. So I think it really might be on your side, it just has trouble controlling its own power. Anyway get up lazy ass. Let's go visit that Deliah lady now that you can travel without burning everything." Glail nodded as he slipped off the bed, slipping his needle and patch into a big pocket on his fancy pants.

"Thanks for staying with me Ales, sorry if I slowed down your schedule," sweetly said Glail.

"No you're fine. I'm only the guild master of the strongest light guild, what really do I have to do?" teased Ales, flashing a tongue. Glail smiled back as he walked towards his sister, right past his best friend. Taft stood their with sadness as the two others just strolled towards the room's exit.

"Hey dummy are you going to come along?" shouted Glail. Taft smiled childishly as he turned around to jog up to his friends. Right as they came out of the infirmary, a new face came into the guild hall. This man was a member of Fairy Tail, having a dark green guild mark on the inside of his right wrist. He was Pine Pabst, a five foot four man with his sleek, light brown hair pushed back and wrapped behind a green bandana. His eyes were a glowing violet and his skin was pale but fair. His clothing was far fancier than anyone else in the guild, even nicer than Glail's pants. The nicest of leather and silks were draped around his body, all in layers. He had two jackets over each other, on top of several shirts, but each layer was visible for fashion, they were not pointless. Silver and gold rings were colorful gems in the middle were resting on all eight of Pine's fingers, his thumbs were clean. His shoes were black and the light reflected perfectly off them. The leather shoes were flawless. They were rather small to fit Pine's small feet. The last layer of his pants was a purple silk pant, that had a loop at the left hip. In this loop was a sword and sheath. It was a rather short sword, only a foot and a half long. To be exact it was a katana, a slim blade. The handle that stuck out from the sheath was a dark metal with thin, white rope tied around the handle. The blade was hidden under the wooden sheath, which was a smooth, orange wood. It was a normal looking sheath, though they were normally metal. The real oddity was at the end of the sheath, were bristles like a paint brush, stretching an extra eight inches off the end of the sheath. It was a sword that Pine always had, though the clothes were new.

"I am back!" Pine exclaimed loudly, already having most of the guild's attention on him. There were plenty of smiles upon his return, including the smiles of Phynn and Taft. Glail was more puzzled than anything, the Pine he saw last had short hair and less extravagant clothing. "I was working hard away on my Wizard Saint duties, I know yall missed me." Glail's confusion was even brighter on his face now and he glanced towards his sister.

"When did Pine become a Wizard Saint?" whispered Glail. Phynn and Taft just chuckled cutely, not answering.

"Hey Pine," shouted Phynn loudly, grabbing Pine's attention. "Glail didn't know you were a Wizard Saint. Tell him the story!" Glail tilted his head down, looking embarrassed. Pine turned his wide smile towards the trio, happily bouncing as he walked closer.

"First, I heard you became an official Fairy Tail mage, congrats," said Pine with an honest smile. "Second now, prepare for the best story ever." Phynn and Pine were both smiling with glee while Glail just kept curiosity on his face. "So Corbac and I were off on a mission protecting something someone with the magic council. I didn't read the fine print. So there were Rune Knights and some councilmen there. A fight broke out, some dark guild for whatta outta reasons. We were in this building that had a basement, Corbac was kicking some serious ass before he was trapped in this weird magic and drug down the basement. We were still winning the fight without him but all the soldiers saw him being trapped and drug down, so they all though he was out of the battle. And while we were winning, there were still a lot of opponents left. It was a large scale battle. Anyway I'm fighting on the top level, and Corbac I guess breaks out of his trap, and he is pissed. Unleashes a crazy powerful spell at apparently the same time I was casting a spell. His spell burst from the basement, takes out like all of the baddies. But to the knights it looked like I did this. And some councilmen saw it too. So I got all the credit. Apparently they were so impressed with my strength that I showed, coupled with the character I displayed during the mission, they hated Corbac's character, that the councilmen that were on that mission were able to convince all the rest of the council to give me the Ten Wizard Saint Title. And I'll never turn down a title." Glail just rolled his eyes and shook his head in disbelief as Phynn continued to chuckle.

"I would've turned it down. Fuck the Council," barked Corbac, marching from behind Phynn and Glail. Freya was bouncing cutely next to Corbac, her little arm wrapped around his big arm.

"It brings me attention. And, the ladies love a wizard saint," said Pine with a smile and a wink. Corbac didn't stop marching forward, moving past the siblings but slowing down once he got to Pine. Corbac tossed his head back to look at Phynn.

"I got some information on Mono. I found his mother, or so the information I have makes me think. It might be false but I want to check it out. Wanna come Phynn?" asked Corbac in his normal, rough tone. Phynn smiled as she bowed politely.

"Thanks but no," firmly answered Phynn. "I have to take dumb dumb over here to go learn about the stray cat he picked up." Phynn jammed a friendly elbow in her brother's stomach.

"Alright fair," shrugged Corbac, marching forward again. Freya waved cheerfully as she walked passed the group and they all waved back. Pine was walking backwards now, because Corbac was pulling at his shoulder and Corbac had a mighty grip. "Well then you're coming with us."

"But I just got home! I want to see some ladies!" cried Pine but it was futile. He tried to wiggle, but he couldn't get free and the trio was out the door. Glail and the others chuckled as they to began to march out. A few goodbyes being shouted their way.

A clothe, purple rope was tied fashionably around Glail's waste and the rope looped through the metal orb, keeping it at his side. The black flames were chilling at the bottom of the orb, not having moved for a while but still burning bright. Night had fallen as Glail, Phynn and Taft relaxed on a train cart, the moon shining oh so bright. Despite the bright, white moon and the huge window right next to the group, Taft slept like a baby. His head was merged into Glail's shoulder and drool was dripping out. Glail stayed entirely still as he talked to his sister who was sitting right in front of him. Under their white, soft benches were three backpacks full of stuff, mostly clothes. Though Taft's bag was filled with snacks too.

"So what do you know about this Delilah?" wondered Glail, whispering.

"Deliah," corrected Phynn with a smirk. She talked in her normal volume, but Taft didn't evens stir, he was out.

"Whatever," sourly replied Glail, flashing his tongue.

"I don't know much about her actually. Master recommended her," shrugged Phynn, leaning back, putting an arm over the back of the bench. "Master said she can help. Help identify what this is and help you control it. Deliah is a very wise mage. She was a part of Sabertooth before they disbanded. This is all off what the Master said, I hadn't even heard about her before."

"Interesting," Glail shrugged back. He was looking down curiously at the black flame at his side. Wonder floated in his eyes. "But we have to take a boat to get to her. Blegh I hate boats," quietly whined Glail. Phynn giggled to herself as she playfully kicked Glail. His eyes shot up annoyingly glare at his sister. His eyes gave a look that asked 'why'.

"We are going to Tesas Island. But it is not actually an island. Don't ask me why. It is on the coast though. So you'll have to deal with your nemesis water. I kicked you because you're stupid."

"I hope you get dragon slayer motion sickness," mumbled Glail, furrowing his brows.

"Second generation Dragon Slayers don't get it!" cheered Phynn, pumping her arms in the air. "Anyway you should try to sleep, cuddle up with Taft. Who knows what tomorrow has in store." A powerful yawn burst from Glail's mouth as he nodded along.


	19. Three Path's Arc: Deliah of the Flame

Black Empire had several guild bases across the country. One of them was underground, not noticeable at all from above. Metal lined the walls of the underground base which stretched far out and down. It had several tunnels that branched in dozens of rooms and members strolled the halls constantly. Dice had strolled down the stairwell to the lowest level, a dark, circular room. A purple beam of light was the only thing illuminating the room but it was not very bright. Dice stood tall in his extravagant clothing, but with his sleeve rolled up to clearly show his black arm, the guild mark of Black Empire. The doorway behind Dice had no door, and it was lined up right across from the purple light pillar. Another figure stood on the other side of the figure. It was Master Ones of Black Empire. He stood seven feet tall with a dark, shredded cloak over his body. His back was turned towards Dice. Dice stood tall and stayed in place, not getting closer to Master Ones or getting a line to see his face. Dice had never seen the Master's face. He had seen him in the light before, seen his body well, but never his face.

"I heard you had something to tell me, but update me on the mission first. Did Ganiel succeed?" wondered Ones. His voice was fitting for a mysterious, powerful figure, it was ghostly and it hissed.

"He did not," sighed Dice, but he didn't hesitate to answer. "Fairy Tail intervened. The canon didn't succeed, the only casualties were Ganiel and his team."

"I see, so the transformations must have failed then," replied Ones, not the slightest emotion in his voice.

"I would assume so," replied Dice, still standing tall with his hands held behind his back.

"But even so, that was a strong group of mages. And S class mages shouldn't have been able to defeat Ganiel's group, so bravo Fairy Tail. But that is what you wanted to talk to me about isn't it. The whispers reached me. You spared them but you could've killed them all." There was still no emotion in Ones voice, no frustration or curiosity, just a voice.

"Yes. Haddy and I decided to spare them. My celestial spirit, Bongos, decided to go with Glail Shivok, who is now officially fighting for Fairy Tail. I am a powerful celestial mage, yet a celestial spirit, who worked with me, decided to go with just some fire mage. It was curious and worth further examination. And Haddy was fighting the Reyes girl and she summoned an ankheiser. An actual ankheiser." If Dice could see Ones face, he would see the master's eyes shoot wide open. "Those two events alone made us decide we should spare them. Black Empire could have a use for those two and who knows what other curious figures Fairy Tail has. Is that reasoning okay with you?"

"Of course," replied the emotionless Ones. Dice blew out a small sigh of relief. The light tension in his body leaked out.

"The former guild master Shivok was a boring man. So I passed Fairy Tail off. But you're right, this is quite curious. We need that Ankheiser. Send Missune to capture Reyes and bring her to The Barn. He can bring whatever paramore he wants, as long as he captures the girl. Communicate with the science division, whoever they think is suited to extract the ankheiser can go to The Barn." Ones talked quickly but Dice listened well, still standing tall, not having moved once all conversation. "I want Fulmine to test the Shivok boy, instruct him if the boy is boring that he can kill him. But if the boy remains interesting then to retreat without killing or greatly injuring. And last instruction. Prepare Countdown, they will test the rest of the guild. Understood?"

"Of course sir. I will follow out these instructions. If you don't mind me asking though, Missune and Fulmine, those are major powerhouses to pull out. What is the reasoning?" Dice asked quietly.

"You, Haddy and Baccor were powerhouses that I pulled out to eliminate Ganiel. A mission that didn't need such strong mages. But few missions actually need your strength. But you guys need to stretch your legs. Can't have my aces cooped up in a base for years. Do you disagree?"

"Not at all. I just, like to understand how you think. Get inside the mind of a brilliant man." A quiet laugh leaked out of Ones, forcing a shiver down Dice's back.

"You don't want to get inside my head," Ones laughed. "But I get what you meant. Keep asking questions like that. I've been thinking about directly training someone under me, training a replacement. You were one of the ones I had in mind. So every time we talk I want you to ask more questions, don't just accept orders. Inquire more. Maybe I'll make some time to have some one on one training with you."

"I'd like that," honestly answered Dice with a toothy smile.

"Now, can you go and dish out my orders?"

"Yes sir." Dice shook his head, shaking himself from his day dream as he marched out.

Tesas Island was really just a city on the coast. It was all built on the sand, but there was no water breaking it off from the main land. Deliah's house was a bit west of the island, barely visible from town. It was just a little cabin, barely big enough for a bed and storage, at least from the outside. There was one tiny square window next to the wooden door. A black curtain was hung over this window from the inside. Fairy Tail's Glail, Taft and Phynn all marched towards the cabin.

"She smells like rotten vegetables," whined Phynn, pulling her nose into her face. It was a bright, sunny day and the waves were rolling in peacefully. The cottage was on the beach but it was clear from the water, even tide wouldn't reach the little house. There was a lush, green forest not too far behind the cabin, and it even met with the ocean. The clouds had gone on vacation and the heat rained down. Glail was still wearing his fancy, purple pants which would make a normal man sweat like a sauna, but Glail didn't seem phased by the heat. Phynn had her green hair tied back in a bun, it having no risk of touching her sweaty body. She wasn't wearing her usual frilly, fancy tops, instead she had just a thin, white tank top that stopped at her midriff paired with black short shorts. The heat had removed Taft's shirt long ago, it was now wrapped around his head to absorb the sweat. Unlike the other two who were taking steps, Taft was dragging his feet through the sad, enjoying the feeling of sand in his toes despite the heat. There was a wave of magical power that came from the cabin, a powerful wave that shot everyone's eyes wide open. A little, old woman had zoomed passed Phynn's legs, smacking Phynn in the back of her long, smooth leg. Orange fire trailed off the old woman's hand, which had brought Phynn to her knees.

"I'm old alright, you try smelling good when you're old. You won't," grumbled the old lady, turning to face the group's back. Though Taft and Glail had turned around so they were facing the old woman now. Phynn was pushing up to her feet, her leg still trembling fiercely. Her jaw was clenched together, the punch really hurt.

"Are you Delilah?" wondered Glail with an eager smile. Anger and redness flushed the old woman's pale face. In a blink she had pushed forward, not even leaving a print on the sand. Her little fist flashed orange as it dug into Glail's stomach, making him topple over. At the same time her free hand reached for the metal orb on his side, ripping it right off his belt. The little black flame was dancing around in the orb.

"It is Deliah," growled the old woman. She peered into the orb with her squinty, beady black eyes. Deliah was a seventy year old woman no taller than four feet. She had wavy, grey hair that looked as dry as the sand. Her wrinkly skin looked really dried out as well. Deliah had on a baggy, white cape that hung over the front of her body as well. Her right hand tucked right back into the cape, disappearing completely, but the hand holding the orb stayed out so Deliah could keep examining it. Her hands were small, her shoulders were small, she was just a very frail looking woman. On her left bicep, just peaking out of the cloak was the tattoo of the jaw of a sabertooth tiger. The rest of the tattoo was underneath her cloak, but it was the guild mark for Sabertooth in black ink. None of the Fairy Tail mages recognized it by the jaw alone and even if they saw the whole thing they might've not recognized it because there as a deep, fleshy scar in the middle of the tattoo, like she had tried to the mark out with a knife long ago. Phynn limped around to face the little woman while Glail tried to keep from spitting up as he stayed crutched over. "Is this what you guys came to see me about?"

"Yeah," painfully grunted Glail as the other two nodded. "Can you help us?" Deliah shrugged as she tossed the orb up at Glail. The little black flame stayed inside. Glail snapped out of his in pain state and jammed his hands out to catch the orb frantically, only realizing after that catching it wasn't important. It wasn't going to break hitting sand nor did the little flame seemed like it could be hurt, not by being dropped at least.

"So you must be the son, Glail. I like calling you by your nicknames, you Fairy Tail mages always find a way to garner fun nicknames. So you need to go crazy, do something and get a nickname I can use," spoke Deliah. She didn't seem angry this time but her voice still growled, it was a deep, raspy voice. Glail forced an awkward smile and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Yes mam, right away," he quietly mumbled. Deliah didn't waste her time flicking her attention to Phynn.

"And you must be The Tempest. Not a Salamander level nickname, but it works," said Deliah. Phynn flashed a proud smile and she flexed her arms in the air. Her body twisted yet again to Taft, who smiled awkwardly, unsure what words were in store. "And who are you?"

"I am Taft Gunn. Also known as-"

"Never mind I don't care," snapped Deliah, turning her attention back to the siblings. "Anyway that flame you have is the one and only Bongos. A celestial spirit."

"You never told me you were a celestial mage, secrets man," joked Taft, reaching over to pat Glail's back. Phynn's eyes looked at Deliah curiously while Glail's eyes just got wide and confused.

"I'm not a celestial mage though. I never made a contract. And I thought celestial spirits were all like zodiacs and animals," mumbled Glail, so many thoughts running through his big, wide eyes.

"Alright settle down," loudly barked Deliah. "Times have changed and celestial magic has changed right with it. Ever since the Celestial King died, the rules of Celestial Magic are pretty much gone." All three kids stood tall and listened with intent. None of them looked down at Deliah though, fearing it might spark another attack. "The zodiacs were some of the most powerful spirits, but they aren't the only ones. And they've pretty much all disappeared, last I heard at least, I don't follow the celestial world that closely. But I do know that many other spirits have come up in the power chain, being just as powerful or more powerful than the zodiacs. But more relative to you, the Celestial King required contracts, he wanted order and organization. But there is no one spirit strong enough to lead the spiritual world now, so now they pretty much do what they please. Still it takes a strong power to cross over from the celestial realm without being summoned, which is probably why the world isn't rampant with spirits. But the ones that can can do what they want. But the world hasn't changed too much, spirits are still mostly good, loyal creatures, that like to fight alongside humans. Just now without contracts spirits have a bigger option of choice. And Bongos seems to wants to be with you instead of his former master. No idea why. But I don't think it is any sort of trick or trap. Granted I've only seen this spirit for a few seconds. But my years of experience-"

"or millenniums," coughed Taft. His words were covered well enough that Deliah didn't hear it though Phynn did and a smile grew on her serious face.

"My years of experience, helps me read people, even spirits. Especially fire type creatures, I have a strong affinity towards fire. I like Fairy Tail, so I'd tell you if I had any worries. And I don't trust Black Empire, of course. So listen to me if you wish."

"I trust you," blurted Glail, standing tall. The others just smirked as they stood behind him. Glail kept the metal orb in his hands and Bongos bounced around excitedly. "So now, can you help me learn how to work with Bongos, if he wishes to fight with me of course." A smirk suddenly appeared on Deliah's face, stretching across her entire small face. Her right foot slid back across the sand, giving Deliah a sturdy stance.

"Come at me."


End file.
